
FIRST- STEPS INTH 
HISTORY- OF 

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First Steps 



in the 



History of England 



By 
ARTHUR MAY MOWRY, A.M. 

Author of "The Dorr War. or the Constitutional Struggle in Rhode Island," and 

joint-author of "A Historyof the United States for Scl Is," "First Steps in 

the History of Our Country," and "American Inventions and [nventors." 




SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY 

NEW YORK: BOSTON CHICAGO 



THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 
Twr> Cos'-* RfcfiveO 

MAY. 22 1902 

Copyright fntry 

CCASS tf^XXc No. 

COPY B. 



For the Study of American History 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY 

By William A. Mowry, Ph.D., and Arthur May 

Mowry, A.M. 334 pages. 219 illustrations and maps. 

Introductory price, 60 cents. 

A unique elementary history of the United States, which 

groups the important events in the nation's progress about the 

life-stories of forty leaders from Columbus to McKinley. 

A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES FOR SCHOOLS 

By William A. Mowrv, Ph.D., and Arthur May 

Mowry, A.M. 468 pages. Numerous illustrations. 

Introductory price, $1.00. 

A valuable and workable book for upper grammar grades 

and high schools, strictly up-to-date, accurate in statement, 

clear and graphic in style, patriotic and unpartisan in spirit. 

AMERICAN INVENTIONS AND INVENTORS 

By William A. Mowry, Ph.D., and Arthur May 
Mowry, A.M. 298 pages. Fully illustrated. Intro- 

.**! . dustory pruse^ r»<; oents. 

*•.!•£ fascination Jr£sifm£ of American improvements in heat, 
light, clothing, food, travel and letters, that shows most clearly 

t the.coBjra.st. between life in colonial and in modern times, and 

;aift*s$i rjew JhterestlcJ e^ery-day matters. 



Copyright, 1902, by 
SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY 



Preface. 

In writing this book the author has followed the same plan as in " First 
Steps in the History of Our Country," and, as in that book the history of 
the United States is told by relating the life-stories of the men who made 
that history, so in this volume the events of English history are described 
by making prominent the men who best represent their periods. In 
English history, however, it is impossible to make the stories strictly bio- 
graphical, because of the extent of time covered and the necessity for 
giving a continued narrative in order to bring out clearly the cause and 
effect of the steps taken by the people to enlarge their liberties. 

At the close of each chapter are suggestions for topical study, which 
will be helpful in preventing close repetition of the text in recitations. 
These topics are followed by thought questions, which are designed to 
bring out some hidden truth contained in the chapters, and to promote 
discussion and individual thought. These questions are in no sense 
""seek further" questions, for nearly all can be answered after a thought- 
ful study of the text. It is believed that teachers and pupils will find 
pleasure and profit by thus searching below the covering of words and 
grammatical phrases. 

The book is sent out into the world in the hope that the lives of these 
patriotic Englishmen may inspire boys and girls to higher ideals of citizen- 
ship, and to a greater desire to help the unfortunate and the oppressed. 
Thus not only all classes of people, but all nations, will be brought into a 
closer bond of brotherhood, and injustice and discontent will pass away. 

Hyde Park, Massachusetts, 1902. 



Key to Pronunciation. 

When the simple division of a word into syllables and proper accentuation make 
the pronunciation evident, diacritical marks are omitted. 

a as in ale. e as in yet. tl as in use. 

a, as in am. I as in ice. li as in up. 

a as in father. i as in ill. do as in moon. 

e as in eve. 6 as in no/r. do as in foot. 

6 as in not. 




I. — Caradoc, 
II. — King Arthur, 
III.— B^da, .... 

IV. — Alfred the Great, 
V. — William the Conqueror, 
VI. — Thomas a Becket, 
VII. — Richard Lion-heart, 
VIII.— John, . 

IX. — Simon de Montfort, 
X. — Robert Bruce, 
XI. — The Black Prince, 
XII.— Wat Tyler, . 
XIII.— Prince Hal, . 
XIV. — Warwick the King-Maker, 
XV. — John Cabot, 
XVI. — Cardinal Wolsey, . 
XVII. — Francis Drake, 
XVIII. — William Shakespeare, 
XIX. — John Hampden, 
XX. — Oliver Cromwell, 
XXI. — Isaac Newton, 



PAGE 

22 
28 
38 

49 

59 

7i 

82 

90 

98 

107 

117 

12S 

*3& 

148 

156 
166 

175 
187 
197 
208 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHATTER PAGE 

XXII. — Lord Chatham, . . . . „ . . .219 

XXIII. — Robert Clive, „ . .231 

XXIV. — Wellington, 241 

XXV. — William Wilberforce, 249 

XXVI. — Daniel O'Connell, 259 

XXVII.— Robert Peel, 268 

XXVIII. — William Ewart Gladstone, 278 

XXIX.— Cecil Rhodes, 289 

Chronology of Events in English History, .... 303 
Genealogy of the English Sovereigns from William the Con- 
queror to Edward VII. . „ . . . following 312 
Index, . . . .313 




" England expects Every Man to do his Duty." 



Frontispiece. 



Julius Caesar 13 

Roman Soldier with Standard . 13 

Britons 13 

The Landing of Caesar .... 15 

Dover Cliffs 16 

Ruins of the Roman Wall ... 19 
A British Scythed Chariot . . .21 

Knight of King Arthur's Time . 22 

Harper 22 

Pirate Ship 22 

The Barbarians Driven to their 

Ships by Vortigern .... 23 

A Jutish Coat of Mail .... 25 

Statue of King Arthur .... 26 

An Old English Spoon .... 27 

York Cathedral 28 

Monks Preaching 28 

Captive Angles in Rome ■ • ■ 33 
St. Augustine Preaching to Ethel- 

bert 34 

Ruins of the Monastery at Jar- 
row yj 

Alfred the Great 38 

Book-making 38 

Soldiers, Ninth Century ... 38 

A Monk Making a Book ... 41 



Alfred and the Burning Cakes . 44 

The Statue of Alfred .... 46 

Alfred's Jewel 48 

William the Conqueror . ... 49 

Normans Landing 49 

Norman Soldiers 51 

The Battle of Hastings .... 53 

Rochester Castle 56 

A Norman Galley 58 

Henry II 59 

Thomas a Becket 59 

Canterbury Pilgrims .... 59 

The Saracen Maiden in London . 63 

Canterbury Cathedral .... 66 
The Attack on Archbishop 

Becket 68 

The Sign of a Canterbury Pil- 
grim 69 

A Spray of the Broom-Plant . . 70 

Richard 1 71 

Saracens 7 l 

Saladin 75 

Richard at the Siege of Acre . . 77 

Richard Lion-heart 79 

The Royal Arms of England 

from Richard I. to Edward III. 81 



IO 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



King John 82 

Slinger . 82 

King John and the Barons . . 82 

Prince Arthur and the Ruffian . 84 

King John Signing Magna Carta. 87 
Fac-simile Extract from Magna 

Carta 88 

Sword and Helmet 89 

Henry III 90 

Earl Simon de Montfort ... 90 
The Castle of an English Baron . 92 
The Royal Standard Bearer . . 94 
The Capture of Richard of Corn- 
wall 95 

The Seal of Simon de Montfort . 97 

Robert Bruce 98 

Battle of Bannockburn .... 98 

Bruce and his Followers ... 98 

The Coronation Chair .... 101 

William Wallace 103 

Bruce and the Loyal Scotch 

Dame 105 

Scottish Armor 106 

Edward III 107 

Battle of Crecy 107 

An English Archer no 

A Genoese Crossbowman . . .111 
Philippa Pleading for the Bur- 
ghers of Calais 113 

Cannon in the Battle of Crecy . 116 

Richard II 117 

London Street, 1380 117 

Peasants Marching to London . 117 

A Fourteenth Century Gallant . 119 
A Merchant's House, Fifteenth 

Century 123 

King Richard II. Addressing the 

Mob 125 



PAGE 

Costumes, 1350-1400 .... 127 

Henry V 128 

Costume, 1420 128 

Ships, 1415 128 

Westminster Abbey 130 

The English Standard . . . .132 
Joan of Arc's Victorious Entry 

into Orleans 135 

The Saddle of Henry V. . . . 137 

Henry VI 138 

In the Tower of London . . .138 
The Earl of Warwick .... 138 

Warwick Castle 139 

The Tower of London .... 142 
The Young Princes in the Tower 145 

Temple Gardens 147 

Henry VII 148 

Cabot's Ship 148 

Caxton Printing 148 

The First Sheet from the Print- 
ing Press 149 

An Early English Grammar 

School 151 

The Cabot Memorial Tower at 

Bristol • . . 153 

Caxton's Advertisement . . .155 

Cardinal Wolsey 156 

The Field of Cloth of Gold . .156 
Cardinal Wolsey and his Suite . 159 

Henry VIII 161 

The Trial of Queen Katharine . 162 

Knights in Tourney 165 

Sir Francis Drake 166 

Queen Elizabeth Knighting Fran- 
cis Drake 166 

The Armada 166 

The Home of Sir Francis Drake 168 
Queen Elizabeth 171 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



II 



The Fight against the Spanish 
Armada 

Queen Elizabeth's Autograph . 

Shakespeare 

Street Costume 

May Day 

The Grammar School at Strat- 
ford 

A Horn Book 

The Birthplace of Shakespeare 

The Globe Theater 

The Theater in Shakespeare's 
Time 

Boys' Sports 

John Hampden 

The Parliament 

The King 

James I 

A Gold Coin of James I. . . . 

A Cavalier's Tale of the Battle of 
Edgehill 

Signature of King James I. . . 

Oliver Cromwell 

Roundheads 

Cromwell Dissolving Parliament 

Charles I 

The Children of Charles I. . . 

Cromwell Refusing the Crown of 
England 

The Commonwealth Flag . . 

Sir Isaac Newton 

Musketeer, 1660 

Sedan, Seventeenth Century . . 

Dr. Harvey Demonstrating the 
Circulation of the Blood to 
Charles I 

A Sun-Dial 

The Great Fire of London . . 



The Royal Observatory at Green- 

173 wich 

174 The Birthplace of Newton . . 

175 Lord Chatham 

175 The Young Pretender . . . . 

175 The Stamp Act in America . . 
A Cornet of Horse 

176 A Knight of the Order of the 

179 Garter 

181 George III 

183 American Colonists Burning the 

Stamp Seller in Effigy . . . 

185 British Stamps for America . . 

186 Robert Clive 

187 Clive in India 

187 Court Dress, 1750 

187 Clive Leading a Charge in India 
189 The Rock of Trichinopoli . . . 
192 An East India Steamship . . . 

Wellington 

195 Napoleon 

196 Lord Nelson 

197 Wellington Leading the Decisive 
197 Charge at Waterloo .... 
197 A Soldier and a Sailor, 1800 . 

199 Wilberforce 

200 Slave Ship 

At Work in the Coal Mines . . 
St. John's College, Cambridge . 

Chimney Sweeps 

Mrs. Fry Reading to the Prison- 
ers in Newgate 

A King's Ship Chasing a Slaver 

Daniel O'Connell 

Irish Chieftain, Twelfth Century 

O'Connell Speaking 

An Irish Peasant's Home . . . 
215 George IV 



205 
207 
208 
208 
208 



210 

212 



216 
218 
219 
219 
219 
221 

223 

227 



230 

231 
231 
231 
234 
237 
240 
241 
243 
245 

246 
248 

249 
249 

249 

25' 

254 



256 
258 

259 
259 
259 
261 
263 



12 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

The Trial of O'Connell . . . .264 
The Banner of the Royal Arms . 267 

Sir Robert Peel 268 

Town Watchman, 1820 . . . 268 
Steamship and Man of War, 

1840 268 

Stamping Calico 269 

Victoria Taking the Oath . . . 272 
An English Country Home . . 275 
The Birthplace of Sir Robert 

Peel, Sr 277 

Gladstone 278 

The School, 1825 278 

The Newspaper, 1825 .... 278 



PAGE 

The Houses of Parliament . . 280 
" London's Gazette here " . . . 282 

Hawarden Castle 285 

Queen Victoria 287 

Windsor Castle 288 

Cecil Rhodes 289 

View in Egypt 289 

View in South Africa .... 289 
An Australian Sheep Farm . . 292 
Open Workings in the Kimberley 

Diamond Mines 297 

King Edward VII. and Queen 

Alexandra 299 

The Evolution of the Union Flag 301 



Maps. 



PAGE PAGE 

The Home of the Anglo-Saxons 30 English Possessions in France 

England in 600 31 under Edward III 109 

England after the Treaty of Wed- Territorial Possessions in Amer- 

more 45 ica 224 

English Possessions under Henry India in the Time of Robert 

II 61 Give 239 

The Route of the Third Crusade 74 The British Empire 295 




Caradoc. 



FIRST CENTURY. 



The history of England! We need not ask where or what 
England is. Every boy and girl can tell us that England is the 
largest of the three part^ of the island lying west of the conti- 
nent of Europe, called Great Britain. Everyone knows that 
England is the center of that great empire upon whose terri- 
tory the sun never sets. Agriculture and manufactures flourish 
there; good roads, schoolhouses, churches, and hospitals abound. 
England is a civilized, a Christian nation. Once England was 
far different. Centuries ago the Christian religion had not 
reached its shores; the signs of civilization did not exist; hunt- 
ing and fighting were the most common employments of its peo- 
ple. Indeed, it was not England; the inhabitants were not Eng- 
lishmen, nor did they speak a language at all like English. The 
island then had the name of Britain, and the people were called 
Britons. The story of the wonderful changes that have made 
early Britain the England of to-day is the history of England. 



14 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

In very ancient times we read of Egyptians and Israelites 
and Phoenicians (Fe-nish'-ans); but these people knew little, if 
anything, of the small island near the edge of the continent of 
Europe. Twenty-five hundred years ago Greece Was the center 
of the civilized world ; but its historians do not mention the 
island of Britain. Twenty centuries ago Rome was becoming 
the great power of the world, and still the island remained 
almost unknown. It was not until about fifty years before the 
birth of Christ that the first account of the isle of Britain and 
its inhabitants, the Britons, was written. 

After four years of hard fighting, Julius Cresar, the Roman 
general, had conquered the province of Gaul, now called France. 
At last he reached the shores of the English Channel, and saw 
the white cliffs of Britain across the water. With the soldier's 
desire to conquer more territory and with the student's eager- 
ness to learn unknown things, Caesar decided to cross the chan- 
nel and visit the island. Me prepared vessels for the voyage, 
and set sail about the middle of August, B.C. 55. This is the 
first date in English history — the first event to which any 
definite date can be given. 

In a few hours Caesar's vessels approached the shore near 
Dover and anchored not far from land. The cliffs were lined 
with Britons watching the boats draw near. They had heard 
from the Gauls something of the ever-conquering Caesar, and 
were determined to keep the Romans from landing on their 
shores. Therefore their warriors had been summoned from far 
and near. Strange-looking soldiers were they, with their flow- 
ing hair and long, heavy mustaches that nearly covered mouth 
and chin. Their bodies, naked to the waist, were freshly 
daubed with blue paint, and were protected by shields, neck- 
laces, and arm-pieces of wicker-work covered with a thin plate 
of metal. How could they expect to withstand the powerful 
Roman, whose very name was enough to strike fear in the 



CARADOC. 



15 



hearts of his enemies ? But they were tall and muscular; they 
had fought with one another and with wild beasts from child- 
hood ; and their strong right arms knew how to wield the sword 
and the javelin with deadly force. They were not afraid. 

As the ships neared the shore, they were greeted with a 




From the fainting by Blakey. 



THE LANDING OK C.1SAK. 



flight of arrows tipped with bronze or flint. The water was too 
shallow for the boats to land, so it became necessary for the 
Romans to wade ashore. The Britons, some on the beach and 
some in the water, stood with their daggers, short swords, and 
heavy clubs ready to resist the landing. 

No wonder that the Romans, always victorious though they 
had been, hesitated to leap from their boats. They had fought 



i6 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



foes under almost every circumstance, but never before had 
they met desperate savages in the waves and on slippery sand. 
An eagle-bearer set the example. He jumped into the water, 
shouting, " Leap down, men, unless you wish to betray your 
eagle to the enemy." To lose the standard was the worst dis- 
grace a Roman soldier could suffer. The army to a man sprang 
from the boats, swam to the shallow water, and attacked the 




DOVER CLIFFS. 



enemy. A long struggle followed, but the invaders reached the 
shore and drew up in line of battle. 

It was an undisciplined, helter-skelter army that was opposed 
to the Romans. There seemed to be no general plan of battle, 
and each warrior apparently fought for himself. Most of the 
Britons were on foot, though a few rode on horseback. The 
infantry and cavalry were aided by war chariots, to which were 
harnessed horses trained by their rash drivers to instant obe- 
dience. With tremendous speed they were driven through the 



CARADOC. 17 

opposing lines, while a curved scythe, fastened to each wheel, 
mowed the enemy down like grass. Suddenly the horses were 
halted in their mad rush, and the drivers leaped down and fought 
in hand-to-hand encounter. Their foe slain, they mounted the 
waiting chariots, which plunged ahead once more. Such was 
the army that Csesar fought. But the Britons could not hold 
their own against the steady onward march of the Roman 
legions, and the battle was soon lost. 

Caesar spent only two weeks in Britain, and then returned to 
Gaul. The next year he came again, won victories, and made 
a treaty with the king, Caswallon (Kas-wal'-lon). He then left 
the island, and for a hundred years it was undisturbed. Caesar's 
visit, however, brought Britain to the attention of the world. 
A small commerce sprang up between Gaul and Britain; the 
inhabitants began to come in contact with civilization, and 
they lost something of their barbarous nature. When the 
Romans came again; they found the islanders less fiercely 
brave, perhaps, but with better weapons and a disciplined 
army. 

The Britons made no resistance to the landing of the army 
sent by the Emperor Claudius, but gathered their forces and 
took a stand on the north bank of the Thames, where the 
Romans defeated them in battle, though at great loss. Claudius 
himself now arrived from Rome. He captured the British cap- 
ital, defeated a large army, and returned to Rome to receive a 
splendid triumph. 

Britain was not conquered, however. For eight years a des- 
perate resistance was made by the king, Caradoc (Ka-ra'-dok). 
Step by step he was driven inland, until he took his last posi- 
tion on a hill near the border of what is now Wales. Here he 
fortified himself and awaited the Romans. Caradoc hastened 
here and there cheering his men. ' To-day," he said, " will de- 
cide whether Britain shall remain free or be subject to Rome." 
2 



1 8 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Caradoc had chosen his position so well that the Roman 
general hesitated to order an attack. Crossing a deep river, 
the army began the march up the hill, while the Britons show- 
ered missiles upon them. Holding shields over their heads for 
shelter, the Romans proceeded steadily upwards, until they met 
their foe. As usual, the Britons could not hold their own, and 
they lost the battle. The queen and the princes were taken 
captive, and the king's brother surrendered. Caradoc escaped, 
but was soon captured, and the royal family was sent to Rome. 

As Caradoc passed through the streets of Rome in the pro- 
cession formed to gratify the populace, who were anxious to 
see the king that had so long resisted the Roman legions, he 
noted the costly palaces and temples. " Strange," he ex- 
claimed, " that those who own possessions, so many and so 
splendid, should envy us our poor huts." Slowly the proces- 
sion moved into the field of Mars, where the Emperor Claudius 
and the Empress Agrippina (A-grip-pi'-na) sat upon two thrones 
surrounded by their household troops. Weeping and imploring 
mercy, the captives prostrated themselves at the feet of the 
emperor — all but Caradoc. He stood in haughty pride before 
the ruler of the world. 

Briton," said Claudius, " knowest thou not that thou must 
die ? All who bear arms against Rome, as thou hast done, are 
doomed to death." 

The heroic Briton replied: " Had my moderation in pros- 
perity been equal to my noble birth, I should have entered this 
city as your friend rather than as your prisoner; and you would 
not have declined to welcome as an ally a king of illustrious 
descent who ruled many nations. My present lot is as glorious 
to you as it is degrading to myself. Had I surrendered to your 
power, neither my fall nor your triumph would have been as 
great as now. Put me to death, and my story will be forgot- 
ten. Spare me, and your mercy will be remembered forever. 



CARADOC. 



19 



As for me, I have nothing to live for; I fear death no more here 
than on the field of battle." 

This noble speech and the dignified bearing of the cap- 
tive king appealed to the emperor's sense of justice. He at 
once ordered that he be set at liberty. Whether Caradoc ever 
returned to Britain is not known, but we may be sure that 
this country-loving patriot spent the rest of his life in sad- 
ness, as he watched the complete subjection of his native race. 

Not many years 
passed before the Ro- 
mans were in firm pos- 
session of Britain. In 
the north of Scotland 
some unconquered 
natives called Picts 
still remained in arms 
against the Romans, 
but elsewhere the 
island was practically 
at peace. As a protec- 
tion from the northern 
savages, a wall was 
built across the island 

from sea to sea. This so-called wall consisted of a trench thirty- 
six feet wide and fifteen deep ; a wall built of stone seventy-three 
miles long, eight feet wide, and fifteen feet high; and a road 
parallel to the trench and wall. Beyond were military camps 
four miles apart, each with its own wall and trench, while on 
the main wall were castles a mile apart, with watchtowers every 
three hundred feet. So firmly was the wall built that portions 
of it stand to-day after all these centuries. What terrible war- 
riors these Picts must have been, to inspire such fear in the 
hearts of Roman soldiers! 




;q*~ 






J=*~j» 



RUINS OF THE ROMAN WALL. 



20 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

For three or four centuries the Romans ruled Britain, and 
the island became a Roman province like Gaul and Spain. In 
many ways the conquest seems to have been of advantage to 
the Britons. They were taught to keep peace among them- 
selves, and to settle disputes by law instead of by fighting. 
Good roads were constructed, and travel from one part of the 
island to another was made easy; towns were established, coun- 
try villas were built, and the inhabitants were brought into fre- 
quent contact with the civilized world. Agriculture and manu- 
factures were encouraged, until Britain produced more than was 
needed at home. In fact, the Roman occupation, to a consid- 
erable extent, made civilized beings out of barbarians; and with 
civilization, Christianity also came. 

Nevertheless there was much discontent. To make these 
changes money was needed. Taxation was heavy, and this 
seemed a great burden to people who had never known what 
taxation was. That the Romans compelled their young men to 
be soldiers, and employed them in distant lands, was a serious 
grievance. Men were forced, against their will, to work on the 
roads and in mines. In fact, the Britons suffered the usual 
evils of a subject race ruled by those who thought only of their 
own interests. Still, all remained quiet until the Romans were 
compelled to abandon the province. 

Name some of the changes that have made the England of to-day. 
State the circumstances which caused Caesar to visit England. 
Describe the appearance of an early British soldier, 
(live an account of the battle when Caesar first landed in Britain. 
Describe a British war chariot and how it was used. 
Give an account of Caradoc's resistance to the Romans; his battle 
on the hills; his visit to Rome. 
Describe the great Roman wall. 
Tell what were the advantages and the evils of Roman rule in Britain. 

Why did the ancients know so little of Britain? How many years 



CARADOC. 



21 



have passed since Caesar landed at Dover? What was a Roman eagle- 
bearer? What was the important quality in a Roman army that made 
it victorious? Did the Romans envy the Britons their huts? What did 
Caradoc mean by his expression " moderation in prosperity " ? What is 
taxation? Why were British soldiers in the Roman army sent to other 
countries? 




->.£3- 



Draitinfrom an old print. 

A BRITISH SCYTHED CHARIOT, 




King Arthur. 



SIXTH CENTURY. 

Nearly fifteen hundred years have passed since the last 
Roman soldiers sailed away from the isle of Britain. Doubtless 
the Britons watched their departure with great pleasure. At 
last they were free from heavy taxation ; no longer were they 
a subject race ; they were at liberty to govern themselves. 
But it was not long before they wished the Romans back again ; 
they even sent messengers to Rome beseeching them to return. 

The Roman conquerors had not taught the Britons the 
art of self-protection. Large armies of Roman soldiers had 
been stationed in different parts of the island, and these had 
furnished complete security to the natives. If their young men 
showed themselves soldiers by nature, they were at once drafted 
into the Roman army. But the British legions thus formed 
were never employed at home; they were sent to perform mili- 
tary service in other parts of the great Roman Empire, where 
they often proved themselves the bravest of the brave. 

When the Romans were gone, the warlike Picts, who had 



KING ARTHUR. 



23 



been kept back so long, swarmed across the wall and fiercely 
attacked the Britons from the north. The barbarous Scots crossed 
the Irish Sea and drove the Britons inland from the west. Bands 
of roving pirates ravaged the east and south coasts, plundering 
and burning wherever they went. ' The barbarians drive us to 
the sea; the sea throws us back on the barbarians. Thus two 




From an old engraving. 

THE BARBARIANS DRIVEN TO THEIR SHIPS BY VORTIGERN. 



modes of death await us, we are either slain or drowned," the 
Britons cried. Sorely pressed, they fought the invaders as best 
they could, but they were not such warriors as their ancestors 
had been, and they were seldom victorious. 

At last the leading king of the Britons, Vortigern (Vor'-ti- 
gern), asked certain of the barbarians to assist him in conquer- 
ing the others. He offered to give a part of Kent to Hengist 
and Horsa, leaders of a band of Jutes (Juts), if they would 



24 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

defeat the Picts. This the Jutes quickly did, and then, turning 
on the Britons, they drove them from the whole of Kent. 

Emboldened by the success of the Jutes, another band of 
barbarians, called Saxons, landed on the south coast west of 
Kent, forced the natives inland, and settled there. A third 
tribe, called Angles (An'-g'lz), came also and captured a portion 
of the eastern coast. Thus the Britons, though obtaining tem- 
porary freedom from the barbarians of the north, found that 
they had welcomed an enemy far more dangerous. Little by 
little the foreigners pressed inland, driving the Britons before 
them and destroying the signs of Roman civilization. 

" And still from time to time the heathen host 
Swarmed over seas, and harried what was left. 
And so there grew great tracts of wilderness, 
Wherein the beast was ever more and more, 
But man was less and less, till Arthur came. 



And through the puissance of his Table Round, 

Drew all their petty princedoms under him, 

Their king and head, and made a realm, and reigned." 

" Till Arthur came ! " Finally a leader arose, worthy of the 
name of Briton. Unfortunately we know with certainty very 
little about King Arthur, though many are the tales that are 
told of him. No history was written by the Britons, and the 
Saxons in their Chronicles made little mention of their own 
defeats. Therefore only the most general facts can be told. 

It was Arthur's first task to make himself king. The Britons 
were looking for a leader, and Arthur's deeds of skill and valor 
easily placed him at their head. Other British chieftains at- 
tacked him, but his victories over them won their followers to 
his. ranks. At last he deemed himself strong enough to encoun- 
ter the Saxons as they pressed inward from the coast. After a 



KING ARTHUR. 



25 



fierce and long-contested battle he won a lasting victory, 
completely routing the enemy. Arthur was now truly king; 
none dared to oppose him, and all yielded obedience. The 
Saxons remained quiet within their borders, and the Picts and 
Scots for the first time dreaded to make attack. For many 
years Arthur and his people were left in comparative peace. 

But at length Arthur died, 
and his warriors died also. The 
Angles and the Saxons took up 
arms again, and little by little 
the Britons gave way before them. 
A century had hardly passed after 
Arthur's great victory, before the 
intruders obtained possession of 
the greater part of England. The 
Britons were confined to the coast 
districts along the Irish Sea, in 
what was known as Wales, Corn- 
wall, and Strathclyde (Strath- 
klld'). They were called Welsh, 
or foreigners, by the victorious 
barbarian invaders, and so hereafter we must call them. 

Would you know more of King Arthur and his Round 
Table? Then read Tennyson's" Idyls of the King," or that 
popular book for boys, Malory's" King Arthur." Do you won- 
der where Tennyson and Malory obtained their stories ? They 
are simply English versions of the songs the Welsh bards used 
to sing during the long winter evenings in the highlands of 
Wales; they are English forms of the stories that the early 
British story-tellers used to repeat in the coast districts of 
Cornwall. 

Shall we accept all the stories of King Arthur and his Round 
Table ? No boy of to-day would believe that an arm, stretched 




A JUTISH COAT OF MAIL. 



26 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



out of the sea, handed to Arthur his wonderful sword, Excali- 
bur. But are none of the reasonable tales true ? Very likely, 
but we do not know which ones. In ancient 
times, before the art of printing was known, 
poems were read or sung by traveling bards 
as they spent the night in village or palace 
hall. Most of these songs were probably 
based upon some incident, some heroic act, 
that had really happened ; but as they were 
sung over and over again, they came to vary 
more and more from the original and truth- 
ful account. Still more changes would be 
made by younger bards as they sang the 
poems which they had heard the old bards 
sing. In time little resemblance remained 
between the story as sung and the incident 
as it happened, yet there was always some- 
thing of truth in the most improbable 
story. 

So it was with the legends about King 
Arthur. Though there is more fiction than 
truth in these tales, still they teach us much 
about the character and deeds of the heroic 
British king. Arthur was a Christian fight- 
ing with success against the heathen ; he 
contended for God and native land ; he rep- 
resented civilization holding barbarians at 
bay. Arthur was the last of the great Brit- 
ons, a worthy representative of the noblest 
characteristics of the people that dwelt so long in old England. 

Describe what happened in Britain after the Romans left. 
State how and why the barbarians settled in Britain. 
Tell what is known of King Arthur. 




STATUE OF KING 
ARTHUR. 



KING ARTHUR. 



27 



Give an account of what took place in Britain after Arthur's death. 
Explain how stories of real incidents lost their truthfulness by con- 
stant repetition. 

Should the United States employ Porto Rican soldiers to protect 
that island? What is a pirate? Ought Vortigern to have expected the 
result that followed his invitation? Why was Arthur victorious? Why 
did the Britons fail after Arthur's death? What was the Round Table ? 




AN OLD ENGLISH SPOON. 




CHAPTER III. 



Basda. 

672 (?)-735 (?). 

The Britons had been driven from their native land, and their 
places had been taken by Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. These 
people had come across the English Channel from the continent 
of Europe. The Angles and the Saxons came from the coun- 
try near the mouths of the great rivers of northern Germany; 
the Jutes lived further north in Jutland, now called Denmark. 
These three tribes spoke the same language, had similar habits 
and customs, and were considered very much the same people. 

The Romans had been compelled to leave Britain because 
barbarian tribes were everywhere attacking the Empire of Rome. 
These barbarians belonged to the Teutonic race whose home 
was in Germany. They easily conquered Gaul, Spain, and 
Italy, and at once made themselves at home there. They mixed 
with the native people, adopted many of their habits and cus- 
toms, and became somewhat civilized and Christianized. Their 
descendants were, therefore, but partly Teutons, and might 



BiEDA. 29 

perhaps be called cousins of those Teutons who remained in 
Germany. 

The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes — that portion of the Teutonic 
race which crossed the water to Britain — met with more resist- 
ance than those who had attacked Gaul. They came in smaller 
numbers in boats, and the war of conquest was more bitterly 
fought. When the contest was over, the newcomers did not 
mix with the natives, for the latter had been exterminated or 
driven out. They therefore retained the language, the customs, 
the habits, and the low civilization that they had had in Ger- 
many. They were, we might say, brothers of the Germans. 
* This people gave a new name, eventually, to the land which 
they had adopted, and to themselves as well. The Angles 
brought over their entire tribe, leaving the old Anglia in Ger- 
many uninhabited. They overspread the largest portion of the 
new country, and Britain in time became Angleland, or England. 
The people came to be known as English. The Saxons who 
came to Britain were but a small portion of their tribe ; the larger 
part remained in Germany, and are now known as the Saxons 
of Saxony. For a long time the double term " Anglo-Saxon " 
was used instead of English, and even to the present day the 
descendants of these conquerors of Britain are often called Anglo- 
Saxons, whether living in England or elsewhere. 

The Jutes, under Hengist and Horsa, landed at Ebbsfleet on 
the island of Thanet (Than'-et) in 449 A.D. This is the second 
important date in English history — the first arrival of the Eng- 
lish upon the shores of England. 

The Jutes conquered Kent, which remained their home. 
The Saxons came in different bands and established several 
kingdoms: the South Saxons in Sus-sex; the East Saxons in 
Es-sex; the West Saxons in Wes-sex ; and the Middle Saxons 
in Middle-sex. The Angles also settled in different divisions 
of the country. In the very north, on the eastern coast, was 



3o 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



Bernicia; the region next south was called Deira (Dl'-ra); the 
central portion of the island received the name of Mercia (Mer'- 
she-a); while the East Angles settled the eastern point, and 
were divided into the North Folk and the South Folk, or Nor- 
folk and Suffolk. Many of these divisions of England remain 
to this day in the form of counties. 

We speak of the English of the fifth century as savage war- 
riors, as pirates, and as barbarians. Yet they were more than 




THE HOME OK THE ANGLO-SAXONS. 



barbarians, and they had other interests than those of war; they 
were proud of their skill as sailors, and they hunted the wal- 
ruses and whales of northern seas. They did not cross the 
water merely for the love of plunder or the sake of conquest; 
they were attracted by the fertility of the island. There were 
skilled workmen among them, smiths who forged iron imple- 
ments of war, and jewelers who made gold rings and bracelets. 
They lived in houses far better than the huts of which Caradoc 
spoke, as he walked in the streets of Rome. In fact, the Eng- 
lish, though called barbarians by the civilized Romans, were far 



bjeda. 



3i 



ahead of the Britons of Caesar's time in the necessities and com- 
forts of life. 

The Anglo-Saxon religion was much like that of the other 
Teutons; and the titles of their divinities have come down to us 
in the names of the days of the week. Their chief god was called 
Woden, and they named 











the middle day of the week 
for him, Woden's day or 
Wednesday. Thor,thegod 
of thunder,and Tiw (Te'-o), 
the god of war, were 
honored in Thursday and 
Tuesday. Friday was 
named for Frigu, the god- 
dess of love; and Sunday 
and Monday for the sun 
and the moon. 

After having conquered 
the Britons, the English 
began to wage war on each 
other. When the Berni- 
cians had made themselves 
masters of northern Eng- 
land, they attacked and 
conquered the region south 
of them, occupied by their 

brother Angles, the Deirans. Not content with making the 
Deirans a subject race, the Bernicians sold numbers of them in 
the slave markets of Europe. One group of these captives was 
standing in the market place of Rome when a Christian priest, 
named Gregory, passed by. The youths, with their fair com- 
plexions and golden hair, presented such a contrast to the peo- 
ple of Rome that they attracted Gregory's attention. 




ENGLAND IN 60O. 



32 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

' Who are those boys ?" lie asked of the trader who had 
them for sale. 

" They are Angles," was the reply. 

' They might well be named Angels, for they have the faces 
of angels, and they should be co-heirs with the angels in heaven. 
From what province do they come ? " 

' They come," said the slave dealer, " from Deira." 

" De ira!" (Latin words which mean " from wrath") ex- 
claimed the priest. " Ay, they are to be rescued from the 
wrath of God and given to the mercy of Christ. And what is 
the name of their king ? " 
Ella," was the answer. 
Yea," said Gregory, " alleluia shall be sung in Ella's land." 

The Roman priest himself helped to hasten the fulfillment 
of his prophecy. Many years afterwards, when Gregory had 
become Bishop of Rome, he learned that Bertha, the wife of 
King Ethelbert of Kent, was a Christian, and had been given 
a church in which to worship. Seizing this favorable oppor- 
tunity, he sent fort}- monks with a Roman abbot named Augus- 
tine to preach the gospel of Christ to the English people. 

Theirs was a long and difficult missionary journey. As the 
priests slowly found their way across Gaul, meeting with many 
obstacles and hearing many stories of the savagery of the Eng- 
lish, their courage oozed away. They sent their leader back to 
Rome to explain to Bishop Gregory the difficulties and the dan- 
gers ahead, and to ask if they might not be assigned to some 
other task. Gregory, after listening patiently to the com- 
plaints, only said, " The more difficult the labor, the greater the 
reward," and bade the missionaries continue their journey. 

At last they reached the shores of the English Channel, and 
secured boats to carry them across. Almost one hundred and 
fifty years after Hengist landed at Ebbsfleet, the missionaries 
came ashore at the same place. These two landings are of the 



B.EDA. 



33 



utmost importance to England. The first saw the beginning 
of the overthrow of civilization and Christianity. The second 
saw the return of Christianity, 
with civilization as an inevi- 
table result. 

Augustine sent messen- 
gers to Ethelbert, asking for 
an interview. The king called 
together his wise men for a 
council, and they decided that 
it would be discourteous to 
refuse the request. For fear 
that the strangers might be 
magicians, it was thought 
safer to receive them not 
within doors, but in the open 
air. Accordingly Ethelbert 
gave them a royal audience 
under a lone oak in the open 
fields, and patiently listened 
to the long sermon Augustine 
preached. 

" Your words are fair," 
replied Ethelbert, " but they 
are of new and doubtful mean- 
ing." 

The king was unwilling to 
give up the gods of his an- 
cestors, but he offered shelter 
and protection to the Chris- 
tian ministers. Day by day hymns were sung in the city of 
Canterbury, and the monks proclaimed the gospel and minis- 
tered to the rich as well as to the destitute. Within a year 
3 




CATTIVE ANGLES IN ROME. 



34 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



Ethelbert yielded to the preaching of Augustine and was bap- 
tized. The people followed the example of their king, and 
soon the Christian faith was triumphant in all Kent. 

Sometimes 
victorious, 
sometimes 
temporarily de- 
feated, Chris- 
tianity pushed 
itswaythrough- 
out England. 
Essex and East 
Anglia were 
under the over- 
lordship of the 
king of Kent, 
and they at 
once followed 
the example of 
that country. 
B e r n i c i a and 
Deira had been 
united under 
the name of 
Northumbria 
(Nor-th um'- 
bri-a), that is, 
the territory 
north of the 
Humber River. 
Its king, Edwin, who is noted as the founder of Edwinsborough 
or Edinburgh, married the daughter of the king of Kent. On 
the verge of a great battle, Edwin promised his wife that if he 









■ 






\ 






. 






: 


r ^ 


_J^»*a 


5 '"> &1fi^fl 








■ jgmd 




'" t^^B 








fer''"-? In 


1 1 




ir 






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1 ih If 



Fro)): the painting by Tresham. 

ST. AUGUSTINE PREACHING TO ETHELBERT. 



B.EDA. 35 

succeeded he would become a Christian. He returned in triumph 
and publicly thanked the Lord for the victory. When his wise 
men met to deliberate concerning the new faith of their king, 
one old councilor thoughtfully said: 

" A man is sitting at meat in winter-tide, with the warm fire 
lighted on the hearth, but a chill rainstorm without. A spar- 
row flies in at one door and tarries for a moment in the light 
and heat of the hearth fire, and then, flying forth from the 
other, vanishes into the wintry darkness whence it came. Such 
is the life of man. It tarries but a moment in our sight, but 
what is before it, what after it, we know not. Does the new 
religion teach us anything with certainty of the future life ? 
Then let us follow it ! " 

His words greatly impressed the council. They accepted the 
new faith, and Christianity spread throughout Northumbria. 
As Canterbury was the center of religious life in the south 
of England, so York became the great religious city of the 
north. Near York was the largest and best library in England, 
and also several monasteries and schools for priests. The best 
known of these schools was Jarrow on the Tyne, and it became 
famous because of the teachings of one man, Baeda, or the 
Venerable Bede, as he is sometimes called. 

Baeda was born almost under the shadow of the monastery. 
When he was only seven years old his father gave him to Abbot 
Benedict to be educated as a monk. The rest of his life was 
spent in the monastery of Jarrow, where he was a diligent stu- 
dent and became remarkably learned for those times. Slowly, 
letter by letter, book after book came from his pen. Most of 
the books were on religious subjects, but the most important 
of all was his history, from which we obtain nearly all that we 
know of the early Anglo-Saxons in England. He was the first 
English historian. 

The monks wished to make him abbot of their monastery, 



36 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

but he declined the honor, as it would take his time from study 
and teaching. Though he remained a simple monk, his name 
made the monastery of Jarrow famous; from far and near young 
men came to study at the feet of the Venerable Bede, until at 
one time there were six hundred students in the monastery 
school. 

Baeda was skilled in many languages, but he loved his own 
English tongue the best. His great desire was to make the 
Bible and its teachings understood by his pupils, and his last 
work was the translation into English of the Gospel of St. 
John. He was on his deathbed before the task was completed. 
One morning after a sleepless night, he was told that one chap- 
ter remained to be written. 

It is easily done," said Baeda; " take thy pen and write 
quickly." 

The work was frequently interrupted by the tearful farewells 
of the aged teacher's pupils, and it was almost night when the 
scribe said, " There is yet one sentence unwritten, dear master." 

Write it quickly," was the response. 

It is finished now," said the boy at last. 
' You speak truth," said his master, " all is finished now." 
Baeda had finished his life with his task. 



State the location of the early home of the English. 

Tell how the descendants of the Teutons who traveled southward 
differed from those who went westward. 

Explain the origin of the words England, English, and Anglo- 
Saxon. 

State where the English settled and explain the names given to the 
various sections of the country. 

Describe the occupations of the English in the fifth century. 

Explain how the days of the week received their names. 

Tell the story of Gregory and the Dei ran boys. 

(live an account of Augustine's missionary journey; his reception 
by Ethelbert ; the result of his mission. 



IJ/EDA. 



37 



Tell how Christianity was adopted in Northumbria. 

Give the story of Baeda as a youth ; as a writer; as a teacher 

If the Italians are only half Teuton, from what other race are they 
descended? Can a man be Anglo-Saxon and not English? What is 
the first great date in English history? Why were Ethelbert's wise men 
afraid of magicians within doors? What influence had women in 
Christianizing England? Who did the more for Christianity in Eng- 
land, Augustine or Breda? 




RUINS OF THE MONASTERY AT JARROW. 




T pje.5Ut.lTrt. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Alfred the Great. 

849 (?)-901. 

CENTURIES passed after the Britons had been driven to 
Wales and Cornwall, and still there was no true England. 
When St. Augustine landed at Ebbsfleet, the king of Kent 
was obeyed by some of the neighboring Saxon kingdoms; but 
he was not king of England. When Ba^da taught and wrote at 
Jarrow, all the north was under the rule of Northumbria; but 
this king was not king of the English. 

At length Egbert became king of the West Saxons. He 
had been exiled from Wessex, and had spent seventeen years 
at the court of Charlemagne (Shar'-le-man), who at that time 
ruled over a large portion of Europe. There Egbert obtained 
the preparation that made him a real king, for at the court of 
the great emperor all the learning of the day was centered. He 
studied the art of government as well as the science of warfare, 
so that when he ascended the throne he was in every way supe- 
rior to the other kings on the island. Before his death he had 



ALFRED THE GREAT. 39 

united England under his single overlordship, and could truth- 
fully call himself king of England. 

When Egbert died, his son Ethelwulf succeeded him as the 
overlord of all England. The youngest of Ethelwulf's four 
sons was born just four hundred years after the landing of 
Hengist and Horsa at Ebbsfleet. This boy was named Alfred, 
and was from babyhood the favorite of everybody. Though his 
older brothers surpassed him in strength and physical vigor, 
Alfred was more thoughtful and earnest. 

When the boy was but five years of age, his father sent him 
on a visit to Rome. The king had been victorious in his wars, 
and wished to present a thank-offering to the Pope. Unable to 
go himself, Ethelwulf chose his youngest son to represent him, 
the king of England, at the court of the Pope, the head of the 
Christian Church. So Alfred, with a large retinue of princes 
and nobles, crossed the Channel, traveled the entire length of 
France, pushed over the Alps into Italy, and on to Rome. 
What a journey for a boy of five ! 

The Holy Father warmly received the child, adopted him as 
his own son, and anointed him king of the West Saxons. In 
later years, when Alfred was fleeing for his life in the forests of 
England, what courage he must have received from the memory 
of the journey to Rome! Was he not the true king, crowned 
by the head of the Church ? Must he not succeed in regaining 
his kingdom ? 

One day, soon after his return from Rome, Alfred and his 
brothers were seated around their mother, who was reading to 
them some poems. The book she held in her lap was of more 
value than the most expensive holiday edition of to-day. It 
was not a printed book; every letter had been carefully drawn 
by hand, and the first letter of each poem was almost a picture 
by itself, so beautiful had the writer made it. 

Hoping to lead her children to enjoy reading, the queen said 



40 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

to them, " Whichever of you shall first learn this book shall have 
it for his own." The older boys said nothing. Itdid not interest 
them ; but Alfred instantly asked, " Will you really give that book 
to the one of us who can first understand and repeat it to you ? " 

His mother smiled and told him she would. Alfred took 
the book to his teacher, who read the poems until the child 
could repeat them from beginning to end. He received the 
promised reward, and more; he had learned to study and to 
love books. 

Two years after his journey to Rome, Alfred again visited 
the great city. This time he went with the king, who carried 
rich presents to the Holy Father. The English king spent the 
winter in feasting and being feasted, and at Easter time started 
on his homeward journey. Reaching France, he was cordially 
received by King Charles the Bald, and was easily persuaded to 
spend several months at the brilliant French court. These long 
months at the two centers of European civilization greatly influ- 
enced young Alfred, and gave him an education which he could 
never have obtained in England, just beginning to emerge from 
barbarism. 

Scarcely had the royal part}- reached England again, when 
King Ethelwulf died. Who should be his successor ? To-day 
there would be no question. Whenever a monarch dies his old- 
est son, if living, succeeds to the throne; if he dies before his 
father, the crown passes to this son's oldest son. A thousand 
years ago, however, this law, which is called the law of primo- 
geniture (a Latin word that means first-born), had not become 
fixed. It was necessary, merely, that the new king should be 
a member of the royal family. In those warlike days no child, 
no weakling, no one who had not shown himself brave and 
heroic, could hope for the throne. The people usually chose 
for their king that member of the royal family who had proved 
himself best fitted to be king. 



ALFRED THE GREAT, 



41 




King Ethelwulf on his deathbed advised that the throne 
should pass to each of his four sons in the order of their ages. 
The people of Wessex had no objection to the eldest son, who 
quietly became king. He died after a very short reign, and 
was succeeded by the second son, whose reign 
was but a little longer than his brother's. When 
the third son, Ethelred, came to the throne, 
Alfred, the next in succession, was a youth of 
seventeen. For many years the kingdom had 
been at peace, and Alfred had had no direct ac- 
quaintance with warfare; but this happy condi- 
tion was not destined to last. During Ethelred's 
reign a new enemy, the Danes, ap- 
peared upon the border of Wessex, 
and the West Saxons were com- 
pelled to fight for their homes and 
for their very existence. 

When, centuries be- O- 

fore, the Jutes had sailed 
across the North Sea 
from Denmark, they left 
behind them their broth- 
ers and cousins, the 
Danes. Four hundred 
years had had little ef- 
fect upon these warlike;, 
pagan seamen, and now 
they, in turn, crossed the 

sea and plundered the coast of England. They speedily attacked 
the churches and monasteries, because they held treasure that 
had been accumulating for years. The priests were in such 
deadly fear that they added this prayer to the liturgy, "From 
the fury of.the Northmen, good Lord, deliver us." 




A MONK MAKING A HOOK. 



42 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

The motto of the Danes was, " I trust my sword, I trust my 
steed, but most I trust myself at need." Therefore it is no 
wonder that these self-reliant men carried all before them; and 
wherever their sacred flag appeared, the people fled panic- 
stricken. This flag had embroidered upon it a black raven that 
was thought to have wonderful prophetic powers, and was 
always consulted before going into battle. If the raven's wings 
pointed upward, it meant victory; if they drooped, defeat was 
foretold. 

At first the Danes came merely for plunder, but the fertile 
land was so attractive that it soon mastered their love for Den- 
mark. They landed in large numbers, and almost before the 
king of England realized their presence, they had conquered 
Northumbria and East Anglia. They next attacked Mercia, 
whose king bought them off. His cowardice was equaled by 
their treachery ; the Danes accepted his presents, but immedi- 
ately renewed the attack, until Mercia became Danish territory. 

Strengthened by new forces from Denmark, the Danish king, 
Guthrum, turned his attention to the strongest of the Saxon 
kingdoms, Wessex itself. Ethelrcd and Alfred led the Saxons 
against him, and in one year nine pitched battles were fought. 
Alfred showed himself as brave as his Saxon ancestors had been. 
It is related that one day the Danish army was stationed on a 
hill all ready for the attack, but Ethelred was at prayer. Again 
and again Alfred appealed to his brother to give the word of 
advance, but the king replied, " Not until my prayers are 
heard." Fearing that inaction would weaken the courage of 
the men, Alfred would wait no longer, but led his part of the 
army against the Danes. His courage and enthusiasm were im- 
parted to the troops, and they drove the enemy from the hill. 
Just as the victory was in Alfred's grasp the king's prayer 
ended, and he led his men to the success which was already 
assured. 



ALFRED THE GREAT. 43 

In the last of these battles King Ethelred was killed, and 
Alfred, at the age of twenty-three, became king of the English, 
or, rather, king of the West Saxons. The united England over 
which his grandfather reigned had ceased to exist. Only the 
southern portion of England, Wessex and Essex, Middlesex 
and Kent, remained to the throne, and even this was being 
overrun by the Danes. 

The West Saxons had no standing army; they came from 
their fields to fight, and, the battle over, returned to their har- 
vesting. On the other hand, the Danes had nothing else to do 
but to fight and ravage these very harvest fields. Alfred was 
therefore at a great disadvantage, and was compelled to make 
terms by which Guthrum and the Danes agreed to withdraw 
from Wessex. Treacherous again, the Danes, having strength- 
ened their bands, made a sudden attack upon Wessex, con- 
quered the West Saxons, and drove their king into the forests. 

Defeated, a fugitive, hunted, Alfred wandered through the 
woods. He came upon the hut of a cowherd and begged for 
shelter and food. While he was sitting before the fire, so the 
story goes, the goodwife asked him to watch the cakes and 
turn them that they might not burn. She doubtless thought 
that the beggar should do this much to pay for her hospitality; 
but the royal guest had weightier thoughts than the turning of 
cakes, and he let them burn to a crisp. When the goodwife 
returned, she called to him in anger: 

" There, don't you see the cakes on fire ? 
Then wherefore turn them not ? 
You're glad enough to eat them 
When they are piping hot." 

Alfred lost no time in preparing for the renewal of the con- 
test. A few trusty friends still clung to him; even the cow- 
herd, though his wife knew it not, assisted the king in many 



44 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

ways. Messengers were sent throughout Wessex to summon 
once more the sturdy Saxons to support their king. Secretly, 
a few at a time, they gathered in the forest, and at last formed 
a great camp at Athelney (Ath'-el-ney). Alfred, sure of his 
own forces, desired to know exactly how strong his enemy was, 

















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oy n time. 

ALFRED AM) THE BURNING CAKES. 



so in the disguise of a minstrel he sought the Danish camp and 
wandered through it. The Danes listened, well pleased, to the 
sweet songs of the bard, and, little thinking that he was the 
famous Saxon king himself, they concealed nothing. 

Suddenly one day Alfred led his army out of the camp at 
Athelney and appeared in front of Guthrum's arm}-. Almost 



ALFRED THE GREAT. 



45 



for the first time, the Danes fought on the defensive. Alfred 
had his choice of battle ground, and all the odds were in his 
favor. The West Saxons, united in their love for their brave 
king, and realizing that this was the last struggle for their fire- 
sides, were filled with unwonted daring. They not only de- 
feated the Danes in the battle, but besieged their camp and cut 
them off from all supplies. 
King Guthrum was com- 
pelled to make peace on 
Alfred's terms. He agreed 
to withdraw from Wes- 
sex, to yield Mercia to 
the English, and to con- 
fine himself to the east- 
ern portion of the island. 
He also promised to be- 
come a Christian, and was 
baptized. 

By this treaty of Wed- 
more, Alfred obtained 
peace. Guthrum would 
have been ready at any 
time to break his pledge, 
but he feared the young 
king of Wessex. Though 
Alfred yielded by the 
treaty a large portion of 
his grandfather's kingdom, he retained all that Wessex had ever 
directly governed, and, in fact, he recovered far more territory 
than he had ever hoped. What was of still more importance, 
he secured a long period of peace, which he could devote to 
establishing and strengthening his kingdom at home. 

Alfred is the only kincr of England who has ever been called 




ENGLAND AFTER THE TREATY OF WEDMORE. 



4 6 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



' The Great." Why was he 
so called ? Alexander was 
called " The Great " because 
he conquered so many coun- 
tries that he wept for more to 
conquer; Charlemagne made 
himself ruler of united Eu- 
rope ; but Alfred, though a 
good warrior, lost half his 
kingdom. Alfred was great 
because, in time of peace, he 
made England great. Unlike 
many kings, Alfred was an 
unselfish ruler; his thoughts, 
night and day, were for the 
good of his country. Though 
always sickly and in constant 
pain, he was ever busy, plan- 
ning the welfare of his people. 
So long as I have lived, I 
have striven to live worthily," 
was what he himself said at 
the end of his life. 

Alfred saw that England, 
in time of war, had most to 
fear from attacks by sea. His 
first effort, after peace had 
been concluded, was to build 
a navy. Alfred's little fleet 
was insignificant when compared with England's navy of to-day, 
the largest in the world, but it was a beginning, and by means of 
it Alfred's descendants were emboldened to conquer the Danes 
completely. Alfred also established a standing army. One 




Thornycroft. 

THE STATUE OF ALFRED. 



ALFRED THE GREAT. 47 

half of all the men were ready for warfare, while the other half 
tilled the fields; and when the period of service was ended, 
these two divisions changed places. 

Alfred's most important work was to educate the people. 
He established schools, but at first was compelled to obtain 
teachers from other countries. He himself was the best of 
teachers; he organized schools for the nobles at the court, and 
personally gave instruction in many subjects. As there were no 
text-books in English, he made them himself, and he translated 
many of the books of the day into the English language. He col- 
lected the scattered fragments of history that had been written, 
and arranged them into the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. Alfred 
may almost be considered the founder of English literature. 

The days of peace did not last, for Guthrum died, and the 
Danes could not be held in check. Alfred was, however, pre- 
pared for war. No longer merely on the defensive, he boldly 
attacked the enemy both on land and sea, and easily showed 
the superiority of his army and navy. The Danelaw, as the 
Danish portion of England was called, yielded to his overlord- 
ship, and remained peaceful until after his death. 

The one thousandth anniversary of the death of King Alfred 
was appropriately celebrated in England in the opening year of 
the twentieth century. Elaborate services were held in the 
cathedral at Winchester, where his body was buried, and a 
colossal statue of the noble king was unveiled. 

Edward the Elder succeeded Alfred as king of England, and 
continued the work w r hich his father had begun. During the 
next fifty years Edward and his three sons were continually 
in conflict with the Danes, but Edred, the youngest of them, 
was finally successful. He not only restored to England all 
that his grandfather's grandfather, Egbert, had ruled over, but 
he even became overlord of Wales and Scotland. By the mid- 
dle of the tenth century England seemed to be finally united, 



48 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

and the long struggle between the petty kings of the various 
divisions of the island appeared to be at an end. 

Tell the story of Egbert, king of Wessex. 

Describe Alfred's first journey to Rome; his prize winning; his 
second journey. 

State the ideas of the ninth century regarding the succession to the 
kingship. 

(live an account of the Danes as they plundered the coast of Eng- 
land ; as they conquered English territory. 

Tell the story of Alfred's defeat ; his wanderings ; his victory; his treaty. 

Describe Alfred's new army and navy. 

Give an account of the work which Alfred did for education. 

Describe the later contests between the Danes and the Saxons. 

What means of conveyance did Alfred use on his journey to Rome? 
According to the law of primogeniture, who would succeed a king who 
died without children? Why did the Danes attack Xorthumbria rather 
than Kent, as the Jutes had done? Of what religions were the opposing 
peoples in the Danish-English wars? What is a standing army? 




ALFRED S JEWEL. 

A jewel of blue enamel and gold, 
bearing the words, " Alfred had me 
wrought." 




CHAPTER V. 

William the Conqueror. 



1027-1087. 



WHILE Guthrum, the Dane, was fighting Alfred, the Saxon, 
for the possession of England, men from the north of Europe, 
called Northmen, were plundering other Christian nations and 
sailing over unknown seas. What little is known of these 
Northmen is learned from the Sagas, the poems which the 
Norse bards used to sing. The Sagas tell us how the North- 
men settled Iceland, and how they discovered Greenland; they 
also tell of one Leif, the son of Eric, who sailed even farther 
than Greenland, and brought back tidings of a new world nearly 
five hundred years before Columbus made his great voyage. 

More important in history is the story of Rollo, who, with 
a large band of Vikings, men from the Viks, or bays of Nor- 
way, boldly sailed up the River Seine into the very heart of 
France. He captured Rouen (Roo-on') and fortified it; he 
attacked Paris itself, and greatly frightened the king, Charles 
the Simple. He even compelled the king to give over to him 
the city of Rouen and all the territory in the northwest of 
4 



50 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

France. Charles simply demanded in return that Rollo should 
become the " king's man " ; that is, should do him homage and 
promise to assist him in all his wars. 

Rollo now became duke of the Northmen's land, or Nor- 
mandy. Unlike the Saxons when they conquered England, the 
Northmen, on taking possession of the new country, left their 
old gods behind them. They at once accepted the Christian 
religion, and as rapidly as possible adopted French civilization. 
Scarcely a century had passed after the death of Rollo before 
the Normans, as they were then called, became true Frenchmen. 
Their neighbors across the sea in England always thought of 
them as Frenchmen. 

The descendants of Rollo continued to hold the dukedom of 
Normandy for hundreds of years. About a century after the 
death of Rollo, Duke Robert the Magnificent determined to 
go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Before he set out on 
this dangerous expedition he called the nobles of Normandy 
together, and obtained from them a promise that if anything 
happened to him they would make his only son William, then 
a boy of seven years, duke in his father's place. This was a 
wise precaution, for news soon came of the death of Duke 
Robert. 

William, the new duke of Normandy, was at first too young 
to be the actual ruler of his people, but fortunately the nobles 
who surrounded and protected him were trustworthy servants, 
and for several years the dukedom was well governed. Before 
he was sixteen years of age, the boy suddenly took things into 
his own hands. He learned one day, as he came back from a 
hunt, that Count de Longueville (deh Long'-vel'), who com- 
manded the Norman forces, was in danger of defeat. The 
duke stood thinking for a few moments, and then called for his 
horse, saying to his attendants, " Let him who loves me follow 
me." He rode off at full speed, distancing all his followers, 



WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 



51 



and arrived alone at the camp of his general. His presence put 
new life into the army, and the enemy was forced to surrender. 
From this time on he was in truth the duke of Normandy. He 
governed with the skill of a statesman and a soldier. Now and 
then the nobles rose against 
him, but he always won 
them back to obedience. 

What had been happen- 
ing, meanwhile, in Eng- 
land since the time when 
the grandson of Alfred re- 
united the island under his 
own rule ? About half a 
century after the death of 
Edred, King Swegen, of 
Denmark, made an attack 
upon the king of England, 
who paid him money to 
leave the country in peace. 
As might have been ex- 
pected, Swegen returned 
the next year, and almost 
without bloodshed made 
himself king of England. 
His son Canute (Ka-nut') 
was even a greater man 
than his father, and ruled 

England for many years. His two sons were weak and of little 
importance; when both had died, the Witan, or the assembly of 
the wise men of the Saxons, chose as king Edward, the only 
male descendant of Alfred. 

Edward, who was later called " the Confessor," had been 
brought up an exile in Normandy, as his mother was a Norman. 




NORMAN SOLDIERS. 



52 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Here he had learned Norman ideas and ways, and had come to 
despise English customs. He was a weak king, and the real 
ruler of England was Ear] Godwin, the leader of those who 
were opposed to Norman ideas. When Godwin died, his son 
Harold took his place as chief adviser of the king. Edward had 
no children; in fact, he was the last adult descendant of Cerdic, 
the first king of Wessex, arid after his death the Witan chose 
Harold to be king. 

When the news of the election and coronation of Harold 
reached Normandy, Duke William was angry. ' The Witan," 
said he, " is in too great haste; it should have considered my 
rights to the throne." And what were William's rights? He 
was not in the royal line, but no more was Harold. William 
claimed that Edward, man}- years before, had promised to make 
him his successor. Edward had no right to make such a prom- 
ise; the Witan only could choose a king. William also declared 
that Harold had been treacherous, and had broken his word to 
help William secure the throne; but it is doubtful if such a 
promise was ever given. 

William really had no claim whatever to the throne; but he 
had for many years looked with longing eyes at the fair isle 
across the Channel, and he persisted in declaring that the Witan 
must consider him as a candidate. He therefore made prepa- 
rations to proceed to England and demand an election of the 
Witan. By careful tact and wise statesmanship he obtained the 
consent of the Pope, the assistance of the Norman nobles, and 
the voluntary aid of many of the French nobility, so that six 
months after the death of Edward, his fleet was ready to sail. 
Harold had learned of William's preparations, and had gathered 
an army to oppose his approach. But the fleet was detained by 
adverse winds, and Harold was compelled to visit the north of 
England to put down an insurrection. While he was celebrat- 
ing his victory at Stamford Bridge, tidings arrived that William 



WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 



53 



had landed his entire army at Pevensey. Harold's army had 
been greatly weakened by the battle in the north, but he im- 
mediately took what forces were in condition to travel and in 
a few days confronted William. 

The battle that followed at Hastings was something more 




From the painting by De Louthcrbourg. 



Used by permission of St I mar Hess. 



THE l; \ i 1 II. I >1 HAS I INGS. 



than a contest between two men; it was a struggle of two civili- 
zations. On the one side were the Saxons, pure representatives 
of the old Teutonic race; on the other side were the Normans, 
partly Teuton and partly French. Much depended upon the 
leaders, upon the ability which each showed in grasping favor- 
able opportunities. 



54 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

The Saxon army was drawn up on a gentle elevation, and 
was protected by a thick palisade of trees and branches bound 
firmly together. When William was ready for the attack, his 
infantry marched with steady ranks up the hill, only to be driven 
back in confusion by the Saxons. The Norman horsemen gal- 
loped up the hill; but they, too, retreated in disorder. Time 
after time the Normans returned to the contest only to suffer 
defeat. The battle began in the morning, but the middle of 
the afternoon arrived, and the Normans had accomplished laoth- 
ing. The Saxons became overconfident, and a portion of them 
ventured to leave their palisades to pursue the Normans. Wil- 
liam saw his opportunity. Two or three times he drew the 
Saxons from their protecting wall by pretended flight, and as 
soon as their opponents were in the open, the fleeing Normans 
turned and easily destroyed them. At last, towards dark, Wil- 
liam ordered his bowmen to shoot their arrows into the air, so 
that they might come within the palisades from above. Many 
of the Saxons were thus wounded, and King Harold himself was 
killed by an arrow that pierced his eye. The Normans then 
burst through the fortifications, and though the king's body- 
guard fought until not a man was left, the Saxons were unable 
to resist, and the victory belonged to William. 

William had killed his rival and had destroyed a large Saxon 
army, but this did not make him king of England. He did not 
wish to receive the crown as a conqueror, but desired that the 
Witan should elect him even if he must force it to do so. He 
knew that the people would more readily receive him as king 
if he were elected by the Witan. Herein, as always, William 
showed an able and quick mind. 

Many stories are told of how the duke, by the quickness of 
his wit, accomplished much where most men would have failed. 
When he first stepped on British soil, in all the pride of a duke 
of Normandy, William fell flat upon the ground. His followers 



WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 55 

were frightened, thinking that bad luck must follow such a fall; 
but William, grasping the soil with both hands, exclaimed, " I 
thus take possession of the soil of all England." Again it is 
said that, while making hurried preparations before the battle 
of Hastings, he began to put on his coat of mail back side 
front. His friends exclaimed at the evil omen, but William 
laughed and said, " See how the battle is to turn me around. 
No longer duke, I shall be king." 

The Witan, immediately after the death of Harold, met to 
choose his successor. Harold's children were too young, and 
his brothers were dead ; the Witan had no thought of choosing 
William, so it gave the throne to the boy Edgar, a distant rela- 
tive of Edward the Confessor. When William heard of the 
election of Edgar, he did not immediately march upon London, 
the capital of the kingdom. By leading his army in a round- 
about way he hoped to show the English nobles how strong his 
forces were, and how useless it would be to hold out against 
him. All southern England was at the mercy of the foreigner, 
for Edgar was too young to be a soldier, and had no uncle or 
other relative to raise an army in his behalf. He hastened to 
William's camp to yield himself, renouncing all claim to the 
throne. Now and then a noble joined the ranks of the con- 
queror, but for the most part they remained shut up in their 
castles. 

Duke William entered London in triumph, called the Witan 
together, presented his claims to the throne, and requested that 
he be elected king. The Witan was compelled to follow his 
bidding, and William the foreigner, the duke of Normandy, the 
vassal of the king of France, was crowned king of England in 
the year 1066. This is the third great date of English history — 
the last conquest of England by a foreign foe. 

Three years passed before William conquered the whole 
of England. Every noble who resisted him was declared a 



56 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



traitor, and his lands were confiscated to the crown. These 
lands William divided among the Norman and French nobles 
who accompanied him, thereby changing the nobility from 
Saxon to Norman. This made a great revolution in English 
affairs. The new nobility spoke French, and pretended to have 
no knowledge of the English language; they had no interest in 
the common people, and were often tyrannous in their dealings 
with them. Their customs and habits were those of France, 

and thus England was 
drawn into closer rela- 
tions with the rest of 
Europe. 

The English people 
had now been made. 
Whatever changes have 
taken place since the 
time of the Conqueror 
have been due to the 
ordinary growth of a 
people, not to the ad- 
dition of a new race. 
We might say that they 
are such changes as 
make a boy into a man, for, as compared with the Englishmen 
of to-day, the people of England nine hundred years ago were 
but children. 

Let us see of what these English were composed. The 
Britons had been practically driven out by the Saxons. Their 
influence in later years was very slight, except in the extreme 
western portion of the island. We need scarcely consider them 
at all. 

Roman civilization had been destroyed by the coming of the 
Saxons. Was that an injury to England ? When pagan bar- 




ROCHESTER CAS'l II, 



WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 57 

barism took the place of Christian civilization, was it a serious 
disaster to England ? Perhaps not. Something in the stern in- 
dividuality of the Saxons — in their idea that one man was the 
equal of another, in their custom of permitting all the people 
to take part in governing the country — was of greater value 
than Roman civilization. Saxon civilization when it came, and 
it came soon, was founded on the idea that each citizen was 
a free man. Roman civilization had made the common man a 
slave or a serf, and granted rights and powers only to a few. 

Later came the Danes. During all these years of quiet pos- 
session of the island, the Saxons had become slothful, dull, lack- 
ing in energy. The Danes, in whom flowed the same blood as 
that of the Saxons, had retained their energetic manliness, and 
they waked the Saxons into life again. 

Though the coming of the. Normans was at first a curse to 
the English people, in time its good effects were seen. Though 
the Norman nobles remained aloof from the common people for 
a century or more, eventually they saw that their own interests 
would be best served by helping what they called the lower 
ranks. When the English thus became united, the old Saxon 
belief in the rights of the individual man was still active, while 
the Norman interest in the outside world kept the people in 
touch with Europe. 

Give an account of the Sagas. 

Tell the story of Rollo. 

Describe the accession of William to. the dukedom of Normandy. 

Tell the story of William's first battle. 

(live a brief account of the history of England from the time of 
Alfred to William. 

State William's pretended claims to the throne of England. 

Show how William made his preparations for the invasion of Eng- 
land. 

Describe the battle of Hastings. 

Tell the stories of William's tact. 

Describe William's plan for winning an election by the Witan. 



53 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



Show the character of the new nobility. 

State the effects upon the. English people of each of the foreign 
immigrations. 

Why did Rollo sail up the Seine rather than some other river? What 
was it that made a man of the young Duke William? How did Edward 
the Confessor prepare the way for William? If Harold had promised 
to aid William in his attempts to obtain the throne of England, was he 
morally bound to refuse the kingship himself? Which is of more im- 
portance in battle, courage or a strong position? Which is of more 
importance, numbers or a leader able to seize opportunities? Why did 
the arrows shot upwards do more harm than those shot straight? What 
are the first two great dates in English history? 




Front an old print. 



A NORMAN GALLEY. 



W 

mBSA 




CHAPTER VI. 



Thomas a Becket. 



1117-1170. 

When William the Conqueror lay upon his deathbed, he 
divided his possessions among his three sons. He made Robert, 
the eldest, Duke of Normandy ; he gave to William the crown 
of England ; he asked Henry to be content with five thousand 
pounds of silver. William was naturally satisfied with his share. 
Robert demanded that England as well as Normandy be given 
to him, but Robert had frequently revolted against his father, 
and the Conqueror was only willing to give him that which he 
felt he must. Henry asked, " What good will the treasure do 
me if I have neither land nor house nor home?" " Take com- 
fort, my son," replied his father ; " it may be that one day thou 
shalt be greater than all." 

William II., or William Rufus, as he was named because of 
his red face, was one of the most cruel of kings. The thirteen 
years of his reign were chiefly given up to the gratification of his 
own pleasures. He traveled in various parts of England, stealing 



Go FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

and plundering wherever he went, and acting more like an out- 
law or a brigand than a king. He did not hesitate to take the 
widow's last ewe-lamb or to seize the last wisp of hay from a cow- 
herd's stable. His death was a fitting end to such a life. He 
went into the great forest one day for a hunt, and did not return. 
That night his body was found by a charcoal burner, who brought 
it to Winchester in his rude cart. Henry, William's younger 
brother, who was with the hunting party, hastened to London, 
where within four days he was anointed and crowned king. 

Henry the First, as he is called, because eight Henrys have 
been kings of England, immediately began to make himself 
more popular with the people than his brother had been. No 
objection had been made to the accession of William Rufus by 
the people of England, or to that of Henry I. The power of 
the Witan was gone; the nobles were quiet, and dared make 
no resistance. Robert of Normandy, however, laid claim to the 
throne of England, and attempted to take possession; but Henry 
defeated him and conquered Normandy besides. Thus the Con- 
queror's words of comfort to his youngest son proved to be 
prophetic. Robert was for a time Duke of Normandy ; William 
for a few years ruled England; and Henry for nearly thirty-five 
years reigned over both countries. 

Henry was very proud of his children, and, being an am- 
bitious man, he desired to make himself more powerful through 
their marriages. For his son William he asked the hand of 
Alice, who was called the "noble maid of Anjou " (On-zho6). 
Anjou, one of the central provinces of France, was an important 
country, and would make a strong alliance with England and 
Normandy. Accordingly William, then seventeen years of age, 
was married with great splendor and pomp to the twelve-year- 
old Alice. 

As the bridal party was ready to set sail for England, Thomas 
Fitz-Stephens, a seaman, approached the king and stated that his 



THOMAS A BECKET. 



61 





0/. 



"£^g \.jiZ I 



father had had the honor of carrying the king's father, William, 
to the conquest of England. He begged that his beautiful new 
vessel, the White Ship, with fifty strong oarsmen, might carry 
the present king. Henry replied that his arrangements had been 
made, but that perhaps Prince William would accept the offer ; 
and the king sailed away, taking the little bride with him. The 
imprudent, open-hearted Wil- 
liam presented to the crew of 
the WJiite Ship three casks of 
wine to drink to his health and 
the success of the voyage, and, 
as might be expected with a 
drunken crew, the noble ship 
with its royal passenger went 
upon the rocks, and all were lost. 

Terrible was the grief of 
King Henry. Both his sons 
had died, and his daughter Ma- 
tilda alone was left him. 'His 
pride and love were now cen- 
tered in her, and he determined 
that she should succeed him and 
be queen of England. For this 
purpose he sought a powerful 
prince to whom he might marry 

her, and chose Geoffrey, the young Duke of Anjou, brother of 
Alice. Geoffrey and Matilda had been married six years when 
Henry, the hope of his grandfather, was born. 

When Henry I. died, Matilda was at the court of her hus- 
band in Anjou. The nearest claimant to the throne of Eng- 
land, after Matilda, was her cousin Stephen. He claimed the 
throne on the ground that, while Matilda was a woman, he was 
a man, and while Henry was a babe, he was of age and in the 




English Possessions 
in_1185 P 1 



fiLonrritnrie front 4 G 



62 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

full powers of manhood. Though the barons had sworn to 
support Matilda, Stephen was welcomed by the people and was 
proclaimed king. His coronation was followed by a devastat- 
ing civil war. Matilda was long unsuccessful in her attempts 
to obtain the throne of England for herself or her son, but 
finally an agreement was reached by which Stephen disinher- 
ited his own children and made young Henry his heir. The 
next year Stephen died, and Henry II., already Duke of Nor- 
mandy and Count of Anjou, became King of England. By his 
marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine (Ak'-we-tan'), he added that 
vast province to his domain, making himself the greatest ruler 
in Europe, — the whole of England and more than half of France 
forming his possessions. 

Stephen was the last of the four Norman kings. Henry II. 
was the first of a new line called the Angevin kings, or the fam- 
ily of Anjou. He was also called Plantagenet (Plan-taj'-e-net), 
because the counts of Anjou wore in their helmets a bit of 
broom-plant — plantc being the French word for " plant," and 
genet for " broom." Henry II. was a foreign king, but he was 
also partly English. His grandfather, Henry I., had married 
Edith of Scotland, who could trace her line back to Alfred the 
Great, and this drop of English blood endeared Henry to his 
English subjects, making it much easier for him to govern 
his kingdom. 

As soon as he came to the throne, Henry found that there 
was plenty of work for him to do. The long wars between 
Matilda and Stephen, the frequent struggles between Stephen 
and the barons, and Stephen's own worthlessness as king had 
left England weak and discouraged. The treasury was empty, 
and the people were taxed to the utmost ; the laws were not 
enforced, and life and property were nowhere safe. 

Henry proved himself an able king. He was ever busy. 
He never sits down," said a friend; " he is always on his legs 



THOMAS A BECKET. 



63 



from morning till night." During his long reign England grew 

and prospered in spite of frequent quarrels between the king 

and his subjects. In the administration of the government 

he was greatly assisted 

by his right-hand man, 

the chancellor, Thomas k 

Becket. 

An interesting and per- 
haps true story is told 
about Thomas's father 
and mother. Gilbert a 
Becket was a young and 
rich London merchant 
who, with a single com- 
panion named Richard, 
traveled in the far East. 
He fell into misfortune, 
was captured, and was enslaved by a Saracen 
prince. While in captivity, Gilbert was be- 
loved by his master's daughter, who offered 
to help him escape, and with his compan- 
ion he succeeded in returning to England. 
Though he forgot the black-eyed Saracen 
maiden, she remembered him and deter- 
mined to follow him even to the ends of 
the earth. Leaving home, she hastened to 
the wharves, and by crying, " Gilbert! Gilbert!" attracted the 
attention of some English sailors. The only other English 
word she knew was " London," and the sailors, taking com- 
passion on her, carried her to the capital of England. Here 
again she took up the cry of " Gilbert ! Gilbert!" and after 
days of wandering chanced to meet Richard as she was passing 
Becket's house. Her wanderings were over, for Gilbert, on the 




THE SARACEN MAIDEN 
IN LONDON. 



64 FIRST STEPS IX THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

advice of the bishop, married her, and she became the mother 
of Thomas a Becket, the future chancellor and archbishop of 
England. 

Young Thomas was well educated as a rich man's son, and 
at his father's death inherited great wealth. He was of a re- 
ligious nature, but was not trained as either priest or monk. 
Though his outer robes were soft and rich, he wore next to the 
skin a hair shirt, in order that its roughness might remind him 
of his sins. lie was a strong, athletic man of fine countenance 
and striking appearance. With the nobles he was very popular, 
and even the king attended his banquets. 

Such a man quickly attracted the attention of King Henry. 
He saw that Becket would be of great assistance to him, and he 
accordingly made him his chancellor, or prime minister. What- 
ever the king determined, the duty of the chancellor was to see 
that it was done. The wealth of Becket was also of advantage 
to the king; it prevented the chancellor from desiring to make 
use of the royal money, and it permitted him to rival kings in 
his pomp and magnificence. 

On one occasion Henry sent his chancellor to the king of 
France to ask him to give his daughter Margaret in marriage to 
Prince Henry, the heir of England. Becket set out, attended 
by two hundred men on horseback clad in armor and gay robes. 
Following them, each drawn by five horses, came eight wagons 
filled with provisions and necessities for travel. Two contained 
only casks of ale, an English drink which, the French greatly 
prized; one was fitted up for a kitchen, and another for a 
chapel. The procession was magnificent in the extreme, and 
it caused the people to say, " If such be the chancellor, what 
must the king be ! " 

Closely associated as the king and his chancellor were, the 
king did not understand Becket. As chancellor, Becket knew 
no law save that of his king, and Henry supposed that this 



THOMAS A BECKET. 65 

would be true in whatever position Becket was placed. In 
order to be absolutely supreme in England, Henry found that 
he must accomplish one more thing. He must make the Church 
subordinate to him. The head of the Church in England was 
the Archbishop of Canterbury, and he claimed to be as surely 
the spiritual ruler of the people of England as Henry was their 
temporal king. It so happened that the A-rchbishop of Canter- 
bury died while Becket was at the court of France. Henry 
determined to make his faithful chancellor the new archbishop, 
trusting that thus he could control the Church. He sent for 
Becket and privately offered him the position. Becket, point- 
ing to his gorgeous apparel, said, " You are choosing a pretty 
dress to figure as the head of your monks of Canterbury. If 
you do as you say, my lord, you will soon hate me as much as 
you love me now, for you assume an authority in church affairs 
to which I should not consent." 

Henry did not heed the warning; perhaps he thought the 
chancellor was joking. Becket was chosen for the position and 
duly consecrated. The magnificent banquets were at an end, 
the gay robes were laid aside, and the archbishop's dress was 
assumed. Becket was consistent and honest. As chancellor 
he obeyed every order of his master the king; as archbishop he 
devoted every energy to the strengthening of the Church. A 
quarrel was not slow in coming. 

For many centuries the Church had had a peculiar privilege; 
it had been permitted to try all churchmen who had been accused 
of any offense. By churchmen were meant not only bishops and 
priests and monks, but every clerk and servant in their employ. 
For example, if an ignorant woodsman, cutting wood for his 
master, the bishop, was accused of murdering a fellow-laborer, 
he was tried only in the church courts. This law had some 
peculiar results. Among the worst was that rogues and crim- 
inals were able to escape due punishment from the king's courts 
5 



66 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



by claiming that they were churchmen. The king and his 
friends asserted that the church courts were not just; that their 
punishments were not always in proportion to the crime; and 
that all the people should be treated alike and tried in the same 
courts. King Henry was honest in his beliefs and claims, and 
his ideas are accepted in civilized countries to-day. Archbishop 




AM ERBURV CA 1 lll.i'K VL 



Becket, though we think him mistaken, was also honest and 
sincere. He believed that he was upholding God and His will 
in preventing the first step toward weakening the power of the 
Church. 

Henry summoned his councilors to meet at Clarendon to 
revise the ancient laws. He presented a set of resolutions called 



THOMAS A BECKET. 6/ 

the Constitutions of Clarendon, which distinctly set forth the 
laws and powers of the king's courts, and asked his councilmen 
to sign an agreement to these resolutions. The bishops at first 
agreed among 'themselves that it was a just request, but they 
carried the matter to the archbishop for advice. Strongly and 
persistently Becket said, " No." Me would sign the constitu- 
tion only after the words "saving our order" were inserted. 
By this he meant that he would uphold all laws of the kingdom, 
except those that interfered with the privileges of the Church. 
The king was even more persistent than the archbishop, and 
Becket finally yielded and signed. Hardly had the ink become 
dry upon his pen, when Becket repented of what he considered 
his sin. He inflicted severe penance upon himself, and re- 
mained concealed at Canterbury until he had persuaded the 
Pope to absolve him. Then he announced to King Henry that 
his signature was valueless because of the absolution granted 
him by the Pope. 

The quarrel became very bitter. Becket feared for his life 
and fled to France. Here he remained several years, sometimes 
upheld by the Pope, sometimes urged by him to yield; some- 
times supported by the king of France, sometimes in great dan- 
ger when King Louis wished to please the king of England. 
Finally Henry found that he must have an archbishop of Can- 
terbury. During Becket's absence there was no government of 
the Church, and human nature showed itself in quarrels among 
the bishops and priests; so Henry called Becket back to Eng- 
land. The archbishop returned, realizing that it was at the risk 
of his life. 

Becket at once incurred the hatred of the king by punishing 
some bishops who had obeyed the king's orders. When Henry 
heard of this act, he forgot himself in his anger, and exclaimed. 
" Will none of the cowards who eat my bread rid me of the low- 
born priest ?" Four knights who heard this complaint consid- 



68 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



ered it an order and hurried at once to Canterbury. Becket 
knew of their coming, but refused to let the churchmen barri- 
cade the cathedral. When the knights burst into the church, 
they called out, "Where is the traitor Becket ?" In all his dig- 
nity, Becket stepped before them, saying, " Here is the arch- 
bishop, but no traitor." In spite of the sanctity of the place 
the knights murdered him with shocking brutality. 




THE ATTACK ON ARCHBISHOP BECKET. 



Henry's hasty remark had brought its natural result. At 
the same time it proved a death-blow to the Constitutions of 
Clarendon. The Pope declared the dead bishop a saint. ^ The 
churchmen considered Becket a martyr in a righteous cause, 
and were thereby strengthened in their determination to resist 
the king. The people of England, feeling that Becket was one 
of them, as he had risen from the common ranks, and remem- 






THOMAS A BECKET. 



6 9 




Bering the archbishop's liberality to the poor 
and his kindness to all classes, almost without 
exception agreed with the churchmen that he 
was a martyr. Henry was displeased by the 
reverence paid to his memory, and ordered 
that he should not be called Saint Thomas 
of Canterbury, but Bishop Thomas a Becket. thesis, 

Misfortunes seemed to follow Henry for terbury pilgrim.* 
several years after the murder of Becket, and 
he felt compelled to make a pilgrimage to Canterbury, and even 
to order the monks to beat him over the shoulders with a knotted 
cord. As a final absolution, he began preparations to go on a 
crusade to help recover Jerusalem from the infidels. 

King Henry's command made little change in the attitude of 
the people. No saint in England was ever more popular than 
Saint Thomas of Canterbury, and the successes that followed the 
king's penance were thought to be due to the intervention of 
the saint. A magnificent chapel was erected to his memory in 
the new cathedral at Canterbury, and miracles were claimed to 
be wrought at his grave. For centuries pilgrimages were made 
to his tomb by rich and poor, by kings and by the common 
people. The first great poem in the English language, Chau- 
cer's " Canterbury Tales," is the story of one such pilgrimage 
to the shrine of Thomas a Becket. 

Tell how William the Conqueror divided his possessions among his 
three sons. 

Describe the character of William Rufus. 

Explain the fulfillment of the Conqueror's prophecv. 

Tell the story of the White Ship. 

State the claims of the two rivals to the throne of England — Stephen 
and Matilda. 

Explain the meanings of the words "Angevin" and " Plantagenet." 

* These "signs," or brooches, on which was represented the head of 
Saint Thomas, were worn by Canterbury pilgrims. 



JO FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Describe Henry's character and the beginning of his reign. 
Tell the story of the Sara< en maiden. 

Describe Becket's character: his extravagance ; his journey to France; 
his appointment as archbishop. 

Explain the quarrel between Henry and the Church. 
(live an account of the Constitutions of Clarendon. 
Describe Becket's remorse ; his flight; his return; his death. 
State the results of becket's death. 

liy the law of primogeniture, to whom did the throne belong — Stephen 
or Matilda? Of what nationalities were the kings of England previous to 
limn [I.? We are nol certain of the truth of the story of the Saracen 
maiden ; is it a probable story? Is a rich man less likelv to steal from the 
government than a poor man? What was meant by becket's expression, 
" saving our order "? 




A SPRAY 01 I III. BROi >M-P1 AN I . 




CHAPTER VII. 



Richard Lion-heart. 

1157-1199. 

While Henry II. was strengthening his kingdom and quar- 
reling with his former friend the archbishop, he was having 
plenty of trouble in his own family. Each of his four sons was 
at one time or another engaged in rebellion against him. Henry, 
the eldest, gave his father the most anxiety. At one time the 
king unwisely had young Henry crowned, so that there might 
be no question of the succession when he himself should die. 
After a time Prince Henry quarreled with his father and fled 
to France. There he called himself king of England, claiming 
that in crowning him his father had yielded the throne to him. 
The prince was married to a daughter of Louis VII., and con- 
sequently obtained assistance from France. A petty war fol- 
lowed, broken now and then by pretended reconciliation be- 
tween father and son, but not really ended until Prince Henry 
died, several years before his father. 

The second son. Richard, was associated with his older 



72 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

brother in this quarrel with their father. The third son, Geof- 
frey, was also engaged in the rebellion, and died two years 
before his brother Henry. Even after both Henry and Geoffrey 
had died, Richard continued the war, until finally King Henry 
determined to make peace on whatever terms he could. A 
treaty was drawn up in which Richard was acknowledged as 
heir, and Richard's followers agreed to swear allegiance once 
more to Henry. At the end of the treaty were the signatures 
of the leaders of the rebellion. 

' Who are they, the ungrateful traitors ? Let me hear their 
names," cried the king, when the treaty was read to him. 

The secretary began, " John, Count of Montain." 
'John! John! It cannot be true! My beloved son; he 
whom I cherished beyond the rest! Can he also have deserted 
me ? " 

When told that it was true, he said faintly, " Let the rest 
go as it will ; I care not what becomes of me or the world." 

King Henry, after a brilliant reign of thirty-five years, died 
deserted by all his family. His last words were, " Shame, 
shame on a conquered king. Cursed be the day I was born." 
Richard alone mourned for his father; in the agony of his re- 
morse he cried, " Yes, it is I who killed him." 

Richard succeeded his father as king of England and ruler 
of half of France. England saw little of her new king; during 
the eleven years of his reign Richard spent but eight months 
on the island, making two short visits. The first was for the 
coronation and to obtain the necessary funds to carry out 
his father's wish to go on a crusade. 

The crusaders were bands and armies of men who " took 
the cross," as it was said, and went to rescue the Holy Land 
from the Saracens. The first crusade had taken place about 
a century before the time of Richard, and had resulted in the 
capture of Jerusalem and the establishment of a Christian king- 



RICHARD LION-HEART. 73 

dom in Palestine. A few years before the accession of Richard, 
however, the Mohammedan Turks had attacked and conquered 
the kingdom, and had made Jerusalem a Turkish province. It 
was to recover Jerusalem to Christianity that Richard and his 
allies undertook this third crusade. 

Richard entered into the expedition with the greatest en- 
thusiasm, seeming to care more for the crusade than for his own 
kingdom of England. He made use of every means for obtain- 
ing money; he sold rights and favors to the nobles, and allowed 
many cities to purchase the privilege of self-government. When 
some one criticised the king for selling so much, Richard ex- 
claimed, " I would sell London itself if I could find a purchaser." 

When all was ready, Richard crossed the Channel with a 
large army, and made a union with Philip Augustus, king of 
France. The two armies set out together and marched to the 
Mediterranean coast. There they embarked in two great fleets 
and set sail for Sicily. Meanwhile Emperor Frederick of Ger- 
many, who had also taken the crusader's vow, had preceded 
his allies. He reached Asia Minor, only to be drowned in a 
little river in Cilicia (Se-lish'-e-a). 

From Sicily the allied fleet sailed eastward. Philip Augus- 
tus arrived safely at Acre in Syria, but one of Richard's vessels 
was separated from the others in a storm, and wrecked upon 
the coast of the island of Cyprus. Comnenus, the so-called 
emperor of the island, showed the shipwrecked people great 
discourtesy, ill-treated the crew, and forbade the princesses to 
land. When Richard heard of his cruelty, he forgot the crusade 
for a time, and sailing at once for Cyprus, he conquered the 
entire island, and captured the Emperor Comnenus. To please 
the captured ruler, Richard granted his one request, that his 
chains should be of silver and not of iron. These chains Com- 
nenus bore with great dignity the four remaining years of his 
life. 



74 



FIRST STEPS IN" THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



Expecting to receive aid from Europe, Guy de Lusignan 
(Gl deh Lu-sen-yon'), the former king of Jerusalem, had already 
laid siege to the city of Acre, a formidable stronghold on the 
coast. Leopold of Austria arrived first with the remnant of 
Frederick's ami}-; next came Philip Augustus. These addi- 
tional forces simply increased the famine among the besiegers; 
but when Richard arrived, he brought supplies from the newly 
captured island of Cyprus. 

King Richard took up the siege with energy, but troubles 





■ - i/5sT JsJf. - Wf, 'J 

CRETF __ i/Ilolilliais 




THE Koi i E ' >! I Mi: 1 IIIRD CRUSADE. 



soon broke out in camp. Philip Augustus became jealous 
because so many of the French soldiers deserted to join the 
English, attracted by Richard's brilliant deeds of daring. The 
climate also proved unhealthful, and both kings were attacked 
by fever. 

A story that is told of how Richard obtained the nourishing 
food he needed, better illustrates the courtesy of the enemy 
than the truthfulness of the English. Richard sent a deputy to 
the canij) of Saladin, the Mohammedan caliph, who had come 
to the neighborhood in the hope of relieving the city. The dep- 
uty, meeting Saladin's brother Aftal, said: " It is the custom of 



RICHARD LION-HEART. 



75 



our kings to make each other presents even in time of war. My 
master wishes to offer something worthy of the Sultan." 

' The present shall be well received," replied Aftal, " so 
that we offer other in return." 

We have falcon and other birds of prey," said the deputy, 
" which have suffered much from the voyage and are dying of 

hunger. Would it please 
you to give us some poul- 
try to feed them ? When 
recovered they shall be a 
gift to the Sultan." 

Say, rather, ' ' re- 
turned Aftal, " that your 
master is ill and wishes 
for poultry. He shall 
have what he will." 

Not only was the 
promise kept, but pres- 
ents of Damascus pears, 
Syrian grapes, and moun- 
tain snow were sent to 
the camp. On his recov- 
ery, King Richard pushed 
the siege with vigor, and 
Salad in was compelled to 
surrender the city. After 
a three years' siege the Christians entered Acre, and the French 
and English standards were planted on the tallest towers. 

One act of King Richard at this time had great effect upon 
his future life, as we shall see. When Duke Leopold of .Aus- 
tria, assuming the rights of a king, planted his standard also 
upon the wall, the anger of Richard was aroused. lie ordered 
that the flag be torn down and thrown into the ditch. Leopold 




SALADIN. 



y6 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

was unable to retaliate, but he brooded over the insult, and 
waited his time for revenge, that came all too soon for Richard. 

Philip Augustus became more and more jealous of the grow- 
ing popularity of King Richard, and when Acre was taken, he 
declared that he had fulfilled his vow and was going home. When 
Richard heard of Philip's intentions, he said, " If my brother, 
the king, feels ill, or is afraid of dying in Palestine, I should be 
loath to keep him, but I should consider it an eternal disgrace 
to turn back before the work is accomplished." The king of 
France returned to his country, however, while Richard attacked 
and conquered Ascalon (As'-ka-lon). Before proceeding fur- 
ther, he determined to repair the fortifications of that city. The 
soldiers grumbled at doing this work, but Richard worked with 
them, and called upon Duke Leopold to do the same. Leo- 
pold's sulky reply, " I am not the son of a mason," so angered 
Richard that he struck the duke. Thereupon Leopold also left 
the army, and led his forces home. 

Richard continued to march toward Jerusalem, but he was 
again taken sick with the fever. His army had been so weak- 
ened by the withdrawals of Philip Augustus, Leopold, and other 
leaders, that it was evidently much too small to accomplish its 
purpose. The king reached the very neighborhood of Jeru- 
salem, but felt compelled even then to give up the contest. 
When the soldiers asked to proceed a short distance and see 
Jerusalem, Richard replied, " Alas! those who are not worthy 
to win the holy city are not worthy to behold it." 

During the entire crusade Richard had met with many dis- 
couragements, but he ever earned the right to be called " the 
lion-hearted." At one time he with a small band was separated 
from the main army, when he was attacked by the Saracens 
with a force seven times his own. Undaunted, the king formed 
his little band into a compact body, the knights resting on one 
knee, holding their shields over them, and pointing their lances 



RICHARD LION-HEART. 



77 



outward. Between each two knights he placed an archer with 
an assistant to load his crossbow; he himself stood in the cen- 
ter encouraging his men, and threatening to kill the first who 
showed fear. Attack after attack was made by the Saracens, but 
each time they were repelled. Finally Richard ordered his force 
to advance, keeping close to- 
gether as before, and the Sara- 
cens were driven from the 
field. 

Many similar acts showing 
great bravery and a fearless 




KIU1AKI) AT THE SIEGE OF ACRE. 



courage placed him, in the opinion of the Saracens, in the first 
rank of the Christian warriors. His name was feared, as well as 
respected, by all the Turks of Asia. In fact, it is said that for 
many centuries Saracen mothers used to quiet their children 
with King Richard's name. " Behave, or Melik Rik will be 



78 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

after you," was sufficient to frighten the naughtiest child into 
obedience. 

A treat}- was made between the Sultan and Richard, by 
which pilgrims were to be allowed free access to Jerusalem. 
The treaty was drawn up in accordance with certain peculiar 
customs of the Saracens, to last for three years, three months, 
three weeks, three days, three hours, and three minutes. When 
Richard sailed from Palestine, shedding tears as its shores re- 
ceded in the distance, he exclaimed, " Oh, Holy Land, I com- 
mend thee and thy people unto God! May He grant me yet 
to return and aid thee." 

Richard's misfortunes were not ended. Having been ship- 
wrecked, he was captured by Duke Leopold and imprisoned in 
one of the castles in Germany. A pretty story, that may be 
true, is told of the way in which he was found by his friends. 
Richard had been educated in southern France, and was 
skilled in composing the troubadour songs of that region. 
One of these songs that he prized highly was known only to 
himself and his companion Blonde) i Blon'-del'). When Blon- 
del learned that Richard was confined in some German castle, 
he sought out these castles one by one, and standing under 
the windows, sang the first stanza of the favorite song. One 
day his patience was rewarded, for as he stood by a castle wall, 
even before he began to sing, he heard the voice of his be- 
loved friend singing that first stanza. Blondel immediately 
took up the second stanza, and thus Richard knew that his 
imprisonment would soon be over. 

Nor was Richard mistaken, for all England, except his 
brother John, greatly loved its warrior king. The Pope was 
appealed to, that he might influence the emperor to release 
King Richard, and vast sums of money were collected for his 
ransom. Henry, the emperor, was compelled to bring him to 
trial on the charges which were brought against him, and all of 



RICHARD LION-HEART. 



79 



them were quickly found to be causeless. Henry set free his 
captive and accepted the ransom. 

On his return to England Richard was received with the 
greatest rejoicing. His brother John had attempted to obtain 
the kingdom during his absence, but had failed, and had even 
been convicted of treason while Richard was on his way home. 
John hastened to declare 
his repentance, and beg 
his brother's forgiveness. 
Richard, remembering his 
own rebellion, frankly for- 
gave him, saying, " Would 
that I could forget your 
offense as soon as you 
will forget my forgive- 
ness ! " 

Richard had been in 
England less than two 
months when war with 
Philip Augustus called him 
to Normandy. Philip was 
defeated in this war, but 
Richard was obliged, by 
continued rebellions, to 
remain in France. Nor- 
mandy, especially, was restless under the rule of a duke who was 
considered a foreigner. In order to hold Normandy, Richard 
built a huge fortress, whose ruins still show it to have been one 
of the strongest of the Middle Ages. Richard was very proud 
of it and called it his " pretty child " ; but Philip watched its 
walls rise with increasing anger. " I would take it, were its 
walls of iron," he exclaimed. " I would hold it, were its walls 
of butter," Richard returned. 




RI< HARD LION-HEAR 1 . 



8o FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

The ransom of the king was so enormous that every English- 
man was compelled to contribute a fourth part of his property ; 
the many wars and Richard's new castle nearly drained the 
country of money, and at last the people refused to furnish 
more. Once, when in special need, Richard heard that a treas- 
ure had been discovered by one of his barons. According to 
the laws of the day, the finder should turn over such treasure to 
the king; but the baron refused, saying that " treasure in gold 
belonged to the king, while treasure in silver should be halved." 
In the attack on the castle that followed the king was fatally 
wounded by an arrow shot from the walls. The fortress was 
captured, and all the garrison were put to death, except the 
youth who shot the arrow. He was brought to King Richard 
as he lay dying. 

' What have I done that you should seek my life ? " said 
the king. 

" With your own hand you slew my father and my two 
brothers," replied the youth. ' Torture me as you will, I shall 
die content, if I know that I have slain one who has inflicted 
so many miseries on mankind." 

Richard always admired bravery wherever he saw it. " Take 
off his chains," he ordered. " I forgive him because he believes 
he has been wronged." With this act of generosity, Richard 
Lion-heart, the hero of the third crusade, died after a reign of 
eleven years. 

Describe Henry's rebellion ; Richard's rebellion. 
Tell the story of the last days of Henry II. 
Explain the crusades. 
Describe Richard's preparations. 

Give an account of the shipwreck of the crusaders and its results. 
Describe the siege of Acre. 

Give an account of the interview between the Turk and the Christian. 
State the causes for the departure of Philip Augustus ; the departure of 
Leopold. 



RICHARD LION-HEART. 8 1 

Give an illustration of Richard's bravery. 

Describe the treaty with the Turks. 

Tell the story of Blondel's quest. 

Give an account of the last days of King Richard. 

Why did King Henry love John the best of his sons? Which did 
Henry consider of more importance, a successful reign or a happy family? 
How did Richard help the common people of England? Was the help 
intentional? Was the request of Comnenus a sensible one? Are truly 
brave men jealous of the bravery of others? Were the Turks always without 
humanity? How strong was the crusading spirit in the hearts of Philip 
Augustus and Leopold? Was it physical courage alone that won Richard's 
battles? Are there any improbabilities in the story of Blondel's quest? 




THE ROYAL ARMS OF ENGLAND FROM 
RICHARD I. TO EDWARD HI. 




""•WS BftR<2>»$- 




CHAPTER VIII. 

John. 

1166 1216. 



During the many hundreds of years of its history, England 
has had many rulers. Its kings, like other men, have been of all 
sorts and descriptions — some good, some bad, and some of little 
account. If we were asked to name the model king of England, 
we should agree on Alfred as being all that a king ought to 
be. If we seek for a ruler who was all that a king should 
not be, we find him in John. Alfred was a model king be- 
cause he was unselfish; whatever he did was for the best in- 
terests of the nation. As a result, he established his kingdom 
firmly, and at the same time made his own power secure. John, 
on the other hand, was selfish, and cared for no other interest 
than his own. As a result, the country grew weaker throughout 
his reign, and he himself lost all power. 

One of Alfred's most noticeable traits was his ability to win 
the friendship of all classes. He desired to make a united king- 
dom, to have each of his subjects ready to stand by him in all 



JOHN. 83 

emergencies. John, both before and after taking the throne, 
quarreled with everybody. We have read how his rebellion 
broke his father's heart ; and we have seen how, when his brother 
was a captive and in prison, John showed himself a traitor. 
When Richard died, John seized the throne and ignored the 
claims of his nephew Arthur. 

This young prince was called Arthur of Brittany, because his 
mother was the duchess of that province. His father was 
Geoffrey, the third son of Henry II. According to modern 
custom, he alone had the right to the throne. John, being the 
youngest son of his father, had no right whatever so long as 
Arthur lived. Notwithstanding, the people of England, though 
they hated John, could not, or did not, make any opposition 
when he seized the throne. John was on the spot and was a 
man grown, while Arthur was across the sea in France and was 
a child. 

In France, conditions were different. On the death of Rich- 
ard, Arthur was immediately proclaimed Count of Anjou. Nor- 
mandy also would not accept John, and the king of France 
upheld the rights of Arthur. Naturally, John was not content 
to rule only the smallest part of his kingdom. In the war that 
followed, Arthur was defeated and fell into the hands of his 
uncle, who immediately began to scheme how to destroy 
him. With Arthur dead there would be no longer a claimant 
to the throne. 

The twelve-year-old prince was shut up in a castle. For- 
tunately his keeper became attached to the boy, and for some 
time he was able to frustrate the plans of the wicked uncle. At 
one time John tried to persuade Arthur to trust himself to him. 

" Will you not trust to the gentleness, the friendship, and 
the truthfulness of your loving uncle ?" asked the king. 

" Let him restore to me my kingdom of England, and then 
come and ask the question," replied Arthur. 



8 4 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



This spirited answer greatly incensed the king, who deter- 
mined that nothing should now prevent the death of the prince. 
Once he sent a ruffian to put out Arthur's eyes, knowing 
that the English people would never accept a blind ruler. The 

kind jailer prevented 
this cruel deed. Sev- 
eral other attempts 
failed, but at last the 
boy disappeared. It 
was whispered that the 
king himself had killed 
Arthur. Whether this 
was so or not no one was 
ever able to discover, 
but John surely would 
not have hesitated to 
do so dreadful a thing 
if he thought it was for 
his interests. At any 
rate there was no longer 
a claimant to the Eng- 
lish throne; John had 
reached the height of 
his ambition, and was 
sole ruler of all his 
father's possessions. 
Many years before, 
when he was a child, his father had divided his possessions among 
the three oldest boys, and had laughingly said to his youngest, 
" We shall have to call you Lackland, for there is nothing left 
for you." Now John had it all; but he was not to keep it. 

The king of France, who claimed to be the overlord of all 
the French provinces, whether owned by French noblemen or 




From the painting by Nartluote. 

PRINCE ARTHUR AND THE RUFFIAN. 



JOHN. 85 

the king of England, began to investigate the ugly rumors con- 
cerning John. He ordered the king to come before him for trial 
for the murder of Arthur. John did not dare to go. There- 
fore the French king declared that John's territories in France 
were forfeited, and with a large army he took possession of Nor- 
mandy and Anjou, leaving to John nothing but a small province 
in the southern part of France. 

The story is told that John, while on a hunting trip, became 
mired in a slough near the ancient town of Alnwick (An'-nik). 
His anger was terrible, and from spite he swore that all the 
freemen of the town should have the same experience. Con- 
sequently, when the young men became of age, they were com- 
pelled, in all their holiday dress, to flounder through this stag- 
nant pool. This strange ceremony, called " going through the 
well," continued almost up to the present day. 

It is not surprising that a man with such a temper should be 
in a continual quarrel. The power of the old council, the 
Witan, had ceased, and there was no high authority to say him 
nay in anything. John ruled without law; he oppressed all 
classes. lie compelled the nobles to give him their treasure, 
and sought to control the Church in order that he might use its 
wealth. He set about this in very much the same way as his 
father had. The bishops had elected a new archbishop of Can- 
terbury; the king declared this election void, and demanded 
that one of his own dependants should be appointed to fill the 
position. This was done. The matter being referred to Rome, 
the Pope declared both elections illegal, and ordered the bishops 
to elect Stephen Langton, a man of great learning and holiness. 
Now, of all men in his kingdom, John hated Langton the 
most. The quarrel waxed hot and furious. John refused to 
permit Langton to act, and the question was once more referred 
to the Pope. Consequently, because John refused to obey the 
command of the head of the Church, who assumed power over 



86 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

all kings and princes, he was excommunicated. Not only was 
the king excluded from the communion and all other rights and 
privileges of the Church, but the whole nation was forced to 
suffer for the wilfulness of its ruler. England was placed under 
an interdict. For six years no church-bells were rung through- 
out the land, church services were not held, and the dead were 
buried only in unconsecrated ground. 

Not in the least cared John. He had no more reverence 
for God than he had for man. Finally, as a further punishment, 
the Pope deposed him and gave England to the son of the king 
of France. Even then John laughed at the Pope, but when an 
army was collected to attack England, he became frightened and 
yielded everything. He begged the Pope's forgiveness; he 
promised to receive Langton ; and even took the extraordinary 
step of giving his kingdom to the Pope and receiving it back 
as a fief. Thus by humiliating himself and his kingdom he won 
the goodwill of the Pope and saved himself at the last moment. 

Every act of John made him enemies. The barons had been 
opposed to him from the beginning of his reign, and he had 
taken no pains to gain their friendship. They were becoming 
more powerful every year, and more and more Englishmen, 
with English interests and tastes. They saw that John was 
doing as great an injury to the whole people as to themselves. 
At last, under the leadership of Stephen Langton, they de- 
manded that John sign a paper stating what were the rights 
of the English people, and restoring to them their liberties. 

The plans of the nobles were made so secretly that John 
was taken completely by surprise. ' Why do they not ask my 
kingdom ? " he cried. ' I will never grant such liberties as will 
make me a slave." When he found that not only the barons, 
but the whole people were against him, and that on his side 
were but seven knights, he was forced to yield. A council was 
held on a marshy meadow, called Runnymcde (Run'-i-med), 



JOHN. 



87 




> by Chappel. 
KING JOHN SIGNING MAGNA CARTA. 



on the banks of the Thames. John was angry and vowed ven- 
geance, but the barons were firm. Sulkily he placed his name 
at the foot of the paper which they had drawn up. The great 
charter, or Magna Carta, as it is called from its Latin name, 



88 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

was thus signed on the 15th of June, 121 5. This is the fourth 
great date of English history — the laying of the foundation of 
English liberties. 

By the charter the king promised that no person should be 
imprisoned unless he had a legal trial, and that all English- 
men, peasant and noble, should have the same free and speedy 
justice. He also agreed that henceforth no taxes should be 

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FAC-SIMILE EXTRACT FROM MAGNA CARTA. 

levied by himself without the consent of a national council. 
Ever since John signed this charter, the first of these provisions 
has been deemed just and right among all English-speaking 
peoples, and the second has kept England's kings from becom- 
ing absolute rulers. 

The barons had little faith in John's honesty. Consequently, 
they appointed twenty-four of their number as a council to see 
that he kept his pledges. ' They have given me twenty-four 



JOHN. 



8 9 



over-kings," John cried in a rage, and he quietly set to work to 
become their master. Scarcely had he left Runnymede before 
he announced that he did not consider the signing of the charter 
of any importance, as he had been forced to sign it. Therefore 
he would not keep it. The nobles were not surprised. They 
declared that they would no longer consider themselves his 
subjects, and offered the crown of England to King Louis of 
France. John was making preparations to resist Louis when 
he died, as he had lived, " a knight without truth, a king with- 
out justice, a Christian without faith," as an old record says. 
His oldest son became king of England as Henry III. 

State some of the differences between Alfred and John. 
Tell the story of Prince Arthur. 
Show how John lost his possessions in France, 
(live an account of the contest between John and the nobles. 
Tell the story of the quarrel between John and the Pope. 
State what you can of the rights granted to the English people by 
Magna Carta. 

Describe John's last days. 

Is it for a ruler's own advantage to work for the good of his people? 
Is it probable that Arthur would have made a better king than John? 
What two kings of England were each a fourth son? Why did not John 
attempt to retain Normandy ami Anjou? What reasons did John probably 
have for his bitter hatred of Langton? Why was John's action humiliating 
to both himself and his kingdom? WhatVere the first three great dates 
in English history? Who had the more happy life, Alfred or John? 





lasi Ssksu u sasTniat 



iv.xi whimsy ggg. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Simon de Montfort. 

1200(?)-1265. 

WHEN Henry III. came to the throne, England for the first 
time in more than two hundred years had a boy for its king. 
Henry was but nine years old when his father died, and the real 
government of England was in the hands of first one and then 
another of his guardians. Such continual change was bad for 
the kingdom, but matters grew much worse when the king 
became of age and ruled for himself. He was changeable and 
never to be trusted; he was extravagant and fond of display. 
He wasted the resources of his kingdom, and constantly quar- 
reled with the nobles who tried to prevent him from ruining 
the country by his enormous taxations. The nobles had vari- 
ous leaders, but for more than forty years they were unable to 
hold the king within bounds. Finally a real leader came to the 
front. The work which he did was almost the only good accom- 
plished during Henry's long reign of fifty-six years. 

Simon de Montfort was a younger son of a Frenchman, whose 



SIMON DE MONITOR!". 9I 

wife was heiress to the earldom of Leicester (Les'-ter) in Eng- 
land. When Simon's father died, the king of France would 
not allow the heir to retain both the estate in France and the 
earldom in England. He must choose between the two. The 
older brother, preferring to remain a Frenchman, gave Simon 
the rights to the English earldom, and he went to England 
to obtain possession. Both Henry and his father had col- 
lected for many years the revenue from the estate of Leicester, 
and the king was loath to turn it over to the rightful owner. 
However, Simon's ability to win friends not only overcame the 
king's reluctance, but won the affections of the king's sister. 
Simon became the king's brother-in-law as well as Earl of 
Leicester. 

The marriage was at first kept secret, because it was well 
known that the English nobles would resent such honor being 
given to a stranger who was not of royal blood. When the 
news finally came out, a party was formed under the leadership 
of Richard of Cornwall, brother of the king, to oppose De 
Montfort. Simon by his tact easily won the friendship of Rich- 
ard ; the opposing party broke up, and before long the earl 
became the most popular of the English nobles. 

No one could keep the king as a friend for any length of 
time. He became jealous of the growing power of the earl, 
and a quarrel followed, which lasted many years. The earl was 
obliged to leave England and seek refuge in France. But Simon 
at a distance did not seem so terrible as Simon in England, and 
the king made him governor of Gascony in the southern part of 
France, the. only province that had been left to England by the 
misrule of John. The Gascony nobles were in revolt — " they 
rode the country by night like thieves " — and a firm hand was 
required to control them. For four years Simon spent his time 
in hunting down these robber bands. Henry refused to send 
him aid, either money or men, and the earl was forced to use 



9 2 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



his own treasure. Finally he returned to England, refusing to 
ruin himself further. His interview with the king was exceed- 
ingly stormy. Simon demanded the return of the money which 
he had spent in the king's service. 

The king hotly replied, " Be sure that I shall not keep any 
agreement with thee, thou unworthy traitor and supplanter; 

for it is lawful to 
withdraw from an 
agreement with one 
who breaks it." 

I am no traitor, 
and but thou bearest 
the name of king, it 
would have been a 
bad hour for thee 
when thou utteredst 
such a word," de- 
clared the earl. 

The king, almost 

beside himself with 

rage, cried, " I never 

repented of aught so 

much as I now repent 

me that I ever allowed thee to enter England, or to hold any 

land or honor in this country, where thou hast fattened so as to 

kick against me." 

Simon's arrest would have followed if the king had not 
feared the nobles. A peace was patched up between them, and 
Simon went back to Gascony. He did not stay long, and 
on his return he took the leading place among the nobles in 
opposition to the king. Henry quickly recognized that at last 
he had a skillful opponent. 

One day Henry went down the Thames in a boat to take his 




THE CASTLE OF AX ENGLISH BARON. 



SIMON DE MONTFORT. 93 

dinner out of doors. Suddenly the sky became overcast, and 
a terrific storm came on. The king greatly feared a thunder- 
shower, and he directed his rowers to land him at a palace on 
the river bank where the Earl of Leicester was staying. 

The earl hastened to greet him, saying, " What is it thou 
fearest ? The storm is now past." 

The king answered, " The thunder and lightning I fear be- 
yond measure, but I fear thee more than all the thunder and 
lightning in the world." 

" My lord," replied the earl, "it is unjust that thou shouldst 
fear me, who am ever faithful to thee and thine and to the king- 
dom of England. It is thine enemies, thy destroyers and false 
flatterers, that thou oughtest to fear." 

The nobles had become more and more exasperated at the 
extravagance of the king. At last they declared that it should 
not continue longer. A Parliament — a meeting for speaking 
together similar to the old Saxon Witan, or council of the wise 
men — was held, and the presence of the king was demanded. 
When he entered the hall, a general clanking of swords was 
heard. 

" Am I a prisoner ? " asked the king. 

One of the nobles replied, " No, but we must have reform." 

The king was forced to grant their demands, but this did not 
make peace between them. At one time an appeal was made 
to the king of France to settle the disputes as an arbitrator. 
Inasmuch as an arbitrator is supposed, upon hearing both sides 
of a dispute, to decide impartially which side is right and which 
is wrong, King Louis was hardly the proper man to choose for 
this purpose. He had been engaged all his life in fighting the 
nobles of France, and had succeeded in establishing almost 
absolute power over them. As might have been expected, the 
verdict was in favor of King Henry. The nobles refused to 
accept the decision, and the quarrel broke out in actual war. 



94 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



For the first time in the history of England the people and 
the king were at war with each other. All previous civil wars 
had been between rival claimants to the throne. The war lasted 

several months, and was ended 
by the battle of Lewes (Loo'-is). 
The battle was really won 
through a ruse of Earl Simon's. 
He had a strong carriage made, 
and in it were placed two Lon- 
doners who were especially ac- 
tive in the cause of the king. 
The royal forces believed that 
Earl Simon himself was in the 
carriage. The barons' army 
kept up the deception by say- 
ing, " The earl has determined 
to keep behind us, and he refuses 
to go out with us to fight as he 
promised. We are therefore 
very suspicious about him, for 
he pretends to be so ill that he 
cannot mount his horse. There- 
fore we have caused this very 
strong carriage to be made, so 
that if we must needs die in 
battle he shall die with us." 

The king's troops fought 
fiercely to capture the carriage. 
Driving away the opposing 
forces, they rushed upon it with great fury, crying, " Come out, 
Simon; come out of the carriage! " By the time the two fright- 
ened Londoners were able to show them their mistake, the rest 
of the barons' forces had come up. It was an easy matter to 




THE ROYAL STANDARD BEARER. 



SIMON DE MONTFORT. 



95 



overcome the exhausted troops, and Earl Simon, as leader, was 
completely victorious. 

The king's brother, Richard of Cornwall, had taken refuge in 
a windmill. " Come down, come down, you wretched miller! 
Come out, unlucky master of the mill, come out!" the barons' 




THE I APTURE OK RICHARD OF CORNWALL. 



troops tauntingly cried. "It is a great pity for you that you 
must be made a miller, you who so lately defied us poor barons 
to battle!" Not only Richard, but King Henry and his son, 
Prince Edward, were captured by the victorious army. 

For a time the government of England was completely in 
the hands of Simon ; but he soon realized that it would be a mis- 



96 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

take to continue such an unusual condition. He had no proper 
authority. His every act might be said to be illegal. Accord- 
ingly he issued a call for a meeting of Parliament to take what- 
ever action was necessary for the good of the country. This 
Parliament differed from all previous Parliaments. Simon not 
only invited the nobles, as in all other meetings of the national 
council, but also directed that each shire, or county, should 
send two knights as delegates, and that each borough, or town, 
should appoint two burgesses, or citizens, to represent them in 
the Parliament. 

This meeting of representatives of the common people in 
Parliament was the first step in the formation of the House of 
Commons, that portion of the English Parliament which has be- 
come even more powerful than the other branch, the House of 
Lords, made up of the descendants of the old barons. This 
Parliament, commonly called Simon's Parliament, was held in 
1265, just fifty years after the signing of Magna Carta, and was 
the second great movement in the establishment of the lib- 
erties of the people of England. The counties and towns were 
not again called upon to send representatives until thirty years 
later, but from that time to the present, the common people 
have taken part in the government of England. 

Simon's Parliament is noted rather for its new members than 
for anything it accomplished. It did but little. Its most im- 
portant act was the setting of Prince Edward at liberty, which 
was done with the probable intention of taking the government 
from the hands of the aged king. The act proved disastrous 
to the cause of the barons, for Prince Edward raised an army, 
attacked Earl Simon at Evesham (Evz'-am), conquered, and killed 
him. Simon's sons did not equal their father in wisdom or 
courage; no one was ready or fitted to take his place, and the 
barons made haste to beg forgiveness of the king and recover 
his good will. 



SIMON DE MONTFORT. 



97 



But De Montfort's work was not lost. The king had been 
taught a lesson; he realized that he must not push the people 
too hard. He practically turned over the government to Prince 
Edward, who succeeded his father as king a few years later. 

Describe the character of Henry III. 

Tell the story of De Montfort and the earldom of Leicester ; of De 
Montfort and the province of Gascony. 

Give an account of the quarrel between the king and De Montfort. 

Tell the story of the thunderstorm. 

Give the reasons for the calling of Parliament and its results. 

Give an account of the attempt to arbitrate. 

Tell the story of the battle of Lewes. 

State the origin of the House of Commons. 

Describe the end of the barons' war and its results. 

Is a frequent change of rulers an injury to a country? Why did not 
the king of France permit the elder De Montfort to hold possessions in 
both countries? Why did the king refuse to assist Earl Simon when in 
Gascony? Had Henry a right to be angry with De Montfort when he 
came back from Gascony? Was not Henry in reality a prisoner when he 
came before Parliament? Could the nobles have had a worse arbitrator 
than King Louis? Which is the higher honor, to be a member of the 
House of Lords or the House of Commons? What were the perma- 
nent results of De Montfort's work? What were the first four great 
dates in English history? 




THE SEAL OF SIMON DE MONTFORT. 




BRWS& • MSv-HilS-MU«WERS. 






CHAPTER X. 

Robert Bruce. 

1274-1329. 



EDWARD I. was a king beloved by his people. He was as 
strong as his father was weak. He was a statesman, and his 
father was not. He loved his country, while Henry loved only 
himself. For the first time since the battle of Hastings the 
king was thoroughly English; for the first time the king under- 
stood his people, and the people understood their king. Even 
when people and king quarreled, each was seeking what seemed 
to be best for the kingdom. Though Edward keenly realized 
that England had lost the French possessions, he had no desire 
to recover them, and instead, he devoted himself to upbuilding 
and strengthening England herself. 

He perceived that it would be of great advantage to England 
if the whole island were united. At the time of Edward I., as 
to-day, the island of Great Britain was composed of three divi- 
sions, England, Scotland, and Wales, but each was then inde- 
pendent of the other. At one time or another in the past 



ROBERT BRUCE. 



99 



both Wales and Scotland had been under the control of the 
kings of England, but each had recovered its practical inde- 
pendence. 

The ruler of Wales, whose name was Llewelyn-Ap-Griffith 
(Loo-el'-in-Ap-Grif'-fith), had assumed the title of Prince of 
Wales. An old prophecy said that when English money be- 
came round a Prince of Wales would be crowned at London. 
Inasmuch as a new coinage of copper had just been made, and 
a law passed forbidding the breaking of the old silver penny into 
halves and quarters, the Welsh considered that the prophecy 
was about to be fulfilled. 

Edward was unwilling to acknowledge that Wales was in- 
dependent, or that anyone should hold the title of Prince of 
Wales, so he led an army into Wales and conquered the country 
almost without a battle. The Welsh nobles deserted their 
prince, and even Llewelyn's brother David joined the English 
army. Llewelyn was forced to yield, and Wales became sub- 
ject to the king of England. A few years later David, dissatis- 
fied with the pay that he had received from England, persuaded 
Llewelyn to rebel again. This time the English army met with 
greater resistance; but it was finally successful, and Wales and 
England have formed distinct parts of one kingdom from that 
day to this. 

King Edward's son, Edward, who afterwards succeeded his 
father as king, was born in a castle in Wales. In order to 
gratify the Welshmen, Edward gave him the title of Prince of 
Wales, since he was born on Welsh soil. Thus was started the 
custom that has ever since continued, of calling the heir to 
the throne of England the Prince of Wales. In time this prince 
became king, and so the old prophecy was fulfilled. 

Affairs in Scotland also seemed to favor the ambition of 
Edward. The good and well-beloved King Alexander III. 
died, leaving no children. His daughter Margaret had been 
LoFC. 



100 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

married to Eric, king of Norway, and they had one daughter, 
Margaret, the " Maid of Norway." The Scottish Parliament 
proclaimed this little maid Queen of Scotland, and after much 
discussion accepted the proposal of the king of England that 
she be betrothed to his oldest son. Thus did King Edward 
hope to win Scotland for his family. 

A ship was carefully fitted out to bring " The Maid " from 
Norway to England. It is interesting to know what Edward 
ordered to be placed on board for the special use of the little 
queen — sugar, walnuts, figs, raisins, and twenty-eight pounds 
of gingerbread. Children six hundred years ago were as fond 
of sweets as they are to-day. The Maid of Norway did not 
reach England, for she died on the way, and the hope of a 
peaceful union of the two nations was at an end. 

Thirteen claimants to the throne of Scotland at once ap- 
peared, of whom three only could be said to have any possible 
right. These were John Baliol (Ba-le-ol), Robert Bruce, and 
John Hastings. Baliol and Hastings were great-grandsons, and 
Bruce a grandson of David, a brother of a former king of Scot- 
land. The grandmothers of Baliol and Hastings, and Bruce's 
mother were three sisters, Baliol's grandmother being the eldest 
of the three. These three rivals to the throne agreed to lay 
their claims before the king of England for his judgment. Ed- 
ward referred the matter to his council, who took twelve months 
to consider the question. Meanwhile Edward himself ruled 
Scotland as its " overlord." At last the decision was given in 
favor of Baliol, as he belonged to the oldest line; but before 
declaring judgment, Edward compelled Baliol to swear allegiance 
to him. 

A few years passed in quiet, and then war broke out between 
England and France. Edward commanded Baliol and the Scot- 
tish nobles to join the army which he was about to lead across 
the Channel. Baliol was much puzzled; he had sworn alle- 



ROBERT BRUCE. 



IOI 



giance to Edward, but he had made a treaty of alliance with the 
king of France. Besides, the Scottish nobles refused to go, so 
he decided to break his oath of allegiance. Edward at once 
claimed that Baliol had forfeited his right to the throne, and 
sent an army against him. The Scots were unable to resist, 
and in a short time the 
most of Scotland yielded 
to the English. 

Among the trophies 
seized was the Scottish 
' ' Stone of Destiny. 
This was a small block of 
red sandstone, which, tra- 
dition said, was used by 
Jacob as a pillow during 
that night's sleep when he 
saw the golden ladder and 
the angels ascending and 
descending from heaven. 
After many wanderings 
it was finally brought to 
Scotland, and ever after, 
when a Scottish king was 
crowned, he stood upon 
this sacred stone. It was 
held in great reverence, 

and wherever it went the Scottish monarchy was supposed to 
go also. Edward carried it to Westminster in triumph, and 
inclosed it in the seat of the coronation chair of the British 
kings. 

Baliol was captured, carried to London and imprisoned, and 
Edward for a time was the actual ruler of Scotland. But the 
Scots were dissatisfied; they were restless under the presence 




THE CORONATION CHAIR. 



102 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

of English soldiers, and at last broke out in open revolt under 
the leadership of Sir William Wallace. 

Tradition and fact are so closely interwoven in the story of 
the early life of Wallace that it is difficult to tell truth from 
fiction. This much we know: W 7 allace was a man of unusual 
size and uncommon strength; he had been guilty of some seri- 
ous crime, and had fled to the mountains; he had been out- 
lawed, and a price was put upon his head. He had the wisdom 
to see an opportunity for a successful insurrection in the con- 
tinued dissatisfaction of the Scots. Though the Scottish nobles 
were jealous and held aloof, Wallace for a time was successful. 
But when Edward himself took the field, his skill was more than 
a match for that of Wallace. The Scottish army was cut to 
pieces, and Wallace, though at first he escaped, was captured, 
tried for treason, and beheaded. His watchword was " free- 
dom and liberty," and he has ever been the Scottish national 
hero. 

When Baliol attempted to make himself independent, Robert 
Bruce took sides with the king of England. After his death his 
son, the Earl of Carrick, remained at Edward's court, hoping 
that some time the king might change his mind and give the 
kingdom of Scotland to him. But Edward had no intention of 
doing this. He said to Bruce, " Do you think I have nothing 
better to do than to win kingdoms to give them to you ? " The 
Earl of Carrick also died, leaving to his son, Robert, whatever 
claim the Bruces had to the throne of Scotland. This son was 
" The Bruce," who became King Robert I. of Scotland. 

Like his father, Robert hung about the court for a time; but 
suddenly he waked from his inactivity and secretly left England. 
Scotland immediately rose in revolt, and Bruce was crowned its 
king. 

' Henceforth," said Bruce to his wife, " thou art queen of 
Scotland and I its king." 



ROBERT BRUCE. 



IO- 



" I fear," replied Mary Bruce, " we are only playing at roy- 
alty, like children in their games." 

The play did not long continue. Edward sent a force of 
soldiers into Scotland, and Bruce had to flee for his life. Some- 
times hiding from the English, sometimes contending against 
the treachery of hostile Scot- 
tish chiefs, Bruce wandered 
among the mountains formany 
months. But these very hard- 
ships were necessary to de- 
velop his character. His cour- 
age and hopefulness never 
wavered, and his bravery 
gathered about him a little 
band of followers whose loy- 
alty never failed. 

At one time in the course 
of his wanderings he came up- 
on a little hut, hidden away in 
one of the mountain valleys. 
Being tired and hungry, Bruce 
asked for food and shelter. 

" All travelers are wel- 
come for the sake of one," 
replied the woman. 

" And who is that one for whose sake you make all travelers 
welcome?" asked Bruce. 

" I'll tell thee that. It is none other than King Robert the 
Bruce. His foes are pursuing him hard, but the day is at hand 
when he shall come to his own." 

" Since you love him so well," said Bruce, " know that you 
see him before you. I am Robert the Bruce." 

Most gladly she bade him enter, and not only gave him her 




WILLIAM WAI.I \< 1 . 



104 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

best, but sent away with him her three strong sons "to be his 
servants for life and death." 

Bruce's trusty friend, Douglas, "the good Lord James," as 
the Scots fondly call him, had made a capture of food and am- 
munition that was most welcome to the patriots. Bruce was 
not with them, but as the band lay hidden in a thick wood they 
heard the clear notes of a horn in the distance. 

"That is the king," cried Douglas;" I know his blast of 
old." 

Again came the ringing call through the clear air. 

" No fear but that is the king," cried another. 

With men so devoted that they recognized even the notes of 
his horn, Bruce must in the end win. Perseverance will in time 
accomplish much, and ill-fortune cannot last forever. 

Bruce was now almost in sight of his old home. From a 
high hill near his hiding-place he could sec the smoke from its 
chimney. For months he had heard no word from his wife or 
children, and he sent a trusty follower to gather news. If all 
were well, he was to light a fire on Turnberry Head. The spy 
found that Bruce's family had been captured, and his house 
was in the possession of English soldiers. It chanced to be the 
season when the farmers of that region cleared up and burned 
over their pastures, and Bruce, seeing one of these bonfires near 
the Head, supposed it to be the given signal. Eagerly he launched 
his boats, and after rowing all night landed at Turnberry Head. 
He found the spy waiting on the beach with the evil news. 
Traitor," cried Bruce, " why did you make the signal ?" 

" Alas!" replied the spy, " the fire was not made by me, 
but for some purpose I know not what. But as soon as I saw 
it I knew you would come, thinking it my signal, and therefore 
I came down to wait for you to tell you how the matter stood." 

A council of war was hurriedly held. Bruce decided to make 
an attack, and the English were completely surprised. This 



ROBERT BRUCE. 



105 



was Bruce's first success; the Scots gathered about their leader, 
until at last he was ready to meet the English in battle. 

Meanwhile Edward I. had died and had been succeeded by 
his son. Edward II. was very different from his father. He 
was no statesman; he was no soldier; he was not great or 
noble in any way. Still he was as determined as his father not 




BRUCE AND THE I. OVAL SCOTCH DAME. 



to lose Scotland. Bruce had little fear of him. He is reported 
to have said that the father, dead, was worth more than the 
son alive. His little army of thirty thousand men was hardly 
a match for Edward's force of a hundred thousand, but skill 
and determination are of more value than numbers. 

Just before the clash the Scots knelt in prayer. " They kneel ! 
they kneel! " cried Edward. " They are asking for mercy." 



106 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

' They are, my liege," replied one of his councilors, " but 
it is of God and not of us they ask mercy. These men will win 
the day or die upon the field." 

In the battle of Bannockburn which followed the English 
army was completely routed, and Edward and a small company 
of knights escaped with difficulty. It was one of the worst 
defeats that an English army has ever suffered. By means of 
it Bruce won the independence of Scotland. 

Describe Edward's character and ambitions. 
Tell the story of Llewelyn's revolt. 
Relate the story of the Maid of Norway. 
Describe the rivalry for the throne of Scotland. 
Describe Edward's conquest of Scotland. 
Give an account of the Stone of Destiny. 
Tell the story of the revolt of Wallace. 

Give an account of Robert Bruce at the court of Edward ; of his coro- 
nation ; in his wanderings. 

Describe the battle of Bannockburn. 

Why would it be better to have the whole island of Great Britain 
united? Were there ever any coins but round coins? How would the 
marriage of the Prince of Wales and the Maid of Norway win Scotland for 
the English royal family? According to the law of primogeniture, which 
claimant was entitled to the throne of Scotland? How was Baliol unwise 
in making a treaty of alliance with France, the enemy of England? What 
is «the difference between tradition and history? 





5 - u CHAPTER XI. 

CUES IY 

The Black Prince. 

1330-1376. 



Edward II. was king for about twenty years, and grew more 
unpopular every, day. At last Parliament did that which no 
preceding national council had ever thought of attempting. 
The old Saxon Witan had the right to choose a king, but now 
Parliament claimed the right to set aside a king. Parliament 
deposed King Edward II., and chose his fifteen-year-old son to 
rule as Edward III. 

Edward III. would have made a good king had he not been 
so ambitious. Even before he became of age he set out to add 
France to his kingdom. Not long after Edward's coronation 
King Charles IV. of France died, leaving no sons. His two 
older brothers had preceded him upon the throne. When he 
died he had no living brother and but one sister, Isabella, the 
mother of Edward III. According to French law a woman 
cannot be the ruler of France, and therefore Isabella's cousin, 
Philip VI., at once took the throne. Edward III. claimed the 



IOS FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

crown through his mother, who, he said, could transmit it to 
her son, although she could not hold it herself. This was a 
ridiculous claim, but it was all that Edward needed; he declared 
war with Philip VI., which lasted, with intermissions, for so 
long a time that it is known in history as the Hundred Years' 
War. 

Edward III. had been king only a few years when not only 
he himself, but the whole nation was made happy by the news 
that a son and heir, a new Prince of Wales, was born. Bells 
were rung all over the kingdom, and a da)' of feasting and 
rejoicing followed. The babe was christened Edward, the name 
that his great-grandfather had made illustrious. No father 
was ever prouder of his first-born son. From the day of the 
prince's birth the king's ambitions were all centered in the 
welfare of the child. 

Even the war with France was carried on in a slow, half- 
hearted manner, until the boy reached the age of fifteen. As 
the young prince was then old enough to be a soldier, his 
father began preparations for a vigorous attack upon France. 
By making important grants to Parliament he obtained the 
necessary funds for paying a large army, and set out for France, 
leading his force in person. Philip VI. was able, however, to 
raise a very much larger army; and when the two forces ap- 
proached each other, Edward at first found it necessary to 
retreat. When, in retreating, he came to a place where he 
thought he could defend himself, he halted and drew up his 
army in line of battle. This halt was a great surprise to the 
French army; but as it numbered many times the English force, 
it proceeded without hesitation to make an attack. The battle 
of Crecy (Kres'see) that followed was one of the most impor- 
tant battles in the history of the world. It was one of the last 
fought by the chivalry of the Middle Ages, and one of the first 
in which modern methods of warfare were used. 



THE BLACK PRINCE. 



IO9 



<iZ^- 



The Middle Ages were the days of chivalry, the days in 
which knights fought on horseback in hand-to-hand encounters. 
Those were the days in which lords, barons, and nobles, sur- 
rounded by the serfs or peasants who cultivated their fields, 
followed king or duke to battle. These serfs were poorly 
armed, and fought only because compelled to do so. They 
were of very little value, and often worse than useless. The 
brunt of the battle always fell 
upon the knights, and the 
army which had the greater 
number of knights was usually 
victorious. 

In the battle of Crecy all 
this was changed. The flower 
of the English nobility, the 
knights and barons, were there ; 
but in place of the serfs from 
the fields, Edward had an army 
of hired yeomen, the free, com- 
mon people of England. The 
British yeoman was a skilled 
marksman, trained from boy- 
hood in the use of the bow and 
arrow. Such was the army 
that awaited the approach of 
the French; for the first time an army of footmen, an army of 
the common people, was drawn up to resist an army of knights. 
What would be the result ? 

King Edward stationed himself upon a hill where he could 
overlook the battle. The right wing was led by the sixteen- 
year-old Edward. On came the French knights, with their 
armor glistening in the sunlight. Before they reached the line 
of Prince Edward's bowmen they were met by a flight of arrows 







ENGLISH POSSESSIONS IN FRANCE UNDER 
EDWARD III. 



no 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



so thick that it seemed to them to be snowing. The front line 
fell, horses and riders mortally wounded; those in the rear, un- 
able to stop, rode over their prostrate companions, only to fall 
in their turn. Every arrow met its mark. 

Here and there, scattered among the bowmen, were placed 

some little cannon which were used 
for the first time in warfare. Many 
people laughed at them as being 
nothing but playthings, but King 
Edward hoped that their noise 
might frighten the horses of the 
enemy and make them unmanage- 
able. These cannon may have 
helped somewhat in winning the 
battle for the English, but they 
were mere toys in comparison with 
the great guns of the present time. 
The king of France had heard 
of Edward's army of archers, and 
had therefore added to his army a 
number of Genoese crossbowmen, 
who with their powerful bows might 
be supposed to work great destruc- 
tion to an enemy. But a heavy 
thunderstorm wet the crossbows 
and rendered them almost useless, while the bows of the English 
army were perfectly dry, as they were kept in cases. The sun- 
light that followed the shower was also an aid to the English, 
for it blinded the eyes of the French, and made them a more 
shining target for the English arrows. 

In the midst of the battle a messenger from the young prince 
came to the king asking him to send aid. 
" Is my son dead ? " asked the king. 




AN ENGLISH ARCHER. 



THE BLACK PRINCE. 



I I I 



No, sire," replied the messenger. 

Is the young man wounded ? " the king asked again. 

No, sire," was the reply. 

Is he unhorsed ? " 

" No, sire, but he is hard pressed." 

' Well, then, I will send him no aid. Let the young man 
win his spurs. It is my desire that the battle shall be won by 
the prince, and shall make his name famous throughout Europe." 

The king was stationed where he 
could observe all that was going on, and 
he knew that the young prince was in no 
special danger. 

In spite of the great numbers, in spite 
of the magnificent army of knights, the 
French forces were totally defeated. 
After the battle the Frenchmen lying 
dead on the field alone numbered more 
than the entire English army when it 
went into the fight. As this was the 
only army France had, and as it had been 
made as strong as possible, the whole 
kingdom was at the mercy of the victor 
of Crecy, the Black Prince, as young 
Edward was called by the French, from 
the fact that he always wore black armor. 

When the victor came back into the camp, the king embraced 
and kissed him. " Sweet son," he said, " God grant you good 
perseverance. You are my true son. Right royally have you 
acquitted yourself this day, and shown yourself worthy to be 
a sovereign." 

The prince humbly replied that to the king belonged the 
honor, as it was his teaching and his generalship that won the 
battle. 




A <;knoese crossbowman. 



112 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

The battle of Crecy took place in the year 1346. This is 
the sixth great date in English history — the first battle won by 
British yeomen. 

Not far from the battle ground of Crecy was the fortified 
city of Calais (Ka-la). This city is situated on the coast di- 
rectly across the Channel from England. The possession of 
Calais would be of great value to the king of England, and 
Edward immediately began to besiege it. The garrison held 
out bravely for more than a year, but finally starvation proved a 
stronger foe than the English army. The garrison offered to 
yield, and a conference was held to prepare terms of surrender. 
King Edward was intensely angry at what he called the stub- 
bornness of the city, and at first demanded the right to massacre 
the entire garrison. At length he was persuaded to pardon the 
city, on the condition that he should put to death six of the 
most prominent citizens. 

When the report of this demand reached Calais, the dismay 
was general. Bells were tolled, and the townspeople gathered 
in silence in the public square. One of the chief men made an 
address, in which he showed the people that it was better for 
six persons to die than that all should perish, and offered him- 
self as one of the sacrifices. Five other brave men followed his 
lead, and the six, barefooted and with ropes around their necks, 
were led before King Edward. 

Said their spokesman: 

" Gentle sir, and gentle king, behold us six, who have been 
ancient burghers of Calais, and great merchants. We bring 
you the keys of the town and castle, and put ourselves at your 
mercy, to save the rest of the people of Calais who have suffered 
so heavily. If you will, have pity upon us, of your great 
nobleness." 

The misery of the town and the bravery and noble bearing 
of the captives awoke such feelings of interest in the hearts of 



THE BLACK PRINCE. 



"3 



the English nobles that they unanimously besought the king to 
grant a pardon to the six. But Edward's heart had hardened; 
his anger was too great. He ordered the executioner to do his 
work. At this moment Edward's wife, Queen Philippa, the 
mother of the king's darling, the Black Prince, fell upon her 
knees before Edward and begged for the lives of the captives. 




From an old print. 



PHILIPPA PLEADING FUR THE BURGHERS OF CALAIS. 

The king, who could refuse nothing to his beloved wife, granted 
her request, saying ungraciously: 

" I would that you had been elsewhere. You beg so that 
I cannot refuse. There, I give them to you. Do your pleasure 
with them." 

The queen led them away, clothed and fed them, and sent 
them home with a present of money. 

A truce was made between the opposing forces which lasted 
s 



114 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

for several years. The Black Prince was appointed governor of 
Aquitaine and Gascony in southern France. From early boy- 
hood he had been taught that it was his business in life to rule, 
and that to be a great warrior was the highest ambition a ruler 
could have. Therefore he governed the people of Gascony with 
a rod of iron. He compelled the people to support his large 
army, and did nothing for them in return. He was an English- 
man, and did not understand the people of southern France. 

War broke out again. The Black Prince led his army across 
the border into the territory which belonged to the king of 
France. This part of the country had been free from war for 
many years. The fields were teeming with crops and the castles 
were filled with gold and silver treasure. Prince Edward laid no 
restraining hands upon his soldiers, who plundered field and 
hall at their own pleasure. He had almost reached the city of 
Paris when he learned that King John, who had succeeded his 
father Philip, was marching against him from the north of 
I 7 ranee with a very large army. The Black Prince immediately 
retreated until he had nearly reached his own domain. Here 
he suddenly halted and began preparations for the attack. 

Just as his father had carefully chosen the place for the bat- 
tle of Cr£cy, so Prince Edward picked out the battle ground of 
Poitiers (Pwa-ti-a). He posted his knights at the end of a long 
lane bofdered on both sides by vineyards. He placed his bow- 
men in these vineyards and also behind long rows of hedges. 
The French cavalry could approach only through this lane, 
where they were exposed to a terrible fire from both sides as 
well as from the front. Thus the eight thousand men under the 
Black Prince were able to defeat the French army, which was 
said to be nearly eight times as large. The French loss in this 
battle is something almost impossible to believe. Eight thou- 
sand men lay dead upon the field, five thousand more were 
killed in the flight, and three thousand were taken prisoners. 



THE BLACK PRINCE. I i 5 

King John himself was captured and taken in triumph to 
London. 

King Edward was determined to attack the city of Paris 
itself and complete the conquest of France. He led his army to 
the neighborhood of the city and began preparation for a siege; 
but the warlike king was as superstitious as his less educated 
subjects. A thunderstorm which destroyed many of his sol- 
diers and horses so terrified him that he begged to make peace. 
Firmly impressed with the notion that God was angry with him, 
he signed the treaty of Bretigny (Bra-teen-yee), in which he gave 
up nearly all that he had won, retaining only the province of 
Gascony, and the city of Calais with its surrounding territory. 
He set King John free on the payment of an immense ransom. 

Thus ended the first portion of the Hundred Years' War. 
What had Edward accomplished ? He had spent enormous 
sums of money, and held only Calais in return. He had lost 
thousands of English lives, a sacrifice that could hardly be paid 
for by the military glory which he had received. He had al- 
most destroyed the kingdom of France, and had made the name 
of the Black Prince as dreaded throughout France as was that 
of Malek Rik among the Saracens. But Prince Edward died at 
the height of his manhood, and his name does not even appear 
in the list of the kings of England. 

What had the people of England gained by this war ? They 
had spent their money freely, and whenever they had given 
money to the king, they had obtained from him rights and 
powers which have been valuable ever since. For the first 
time they had shown themselves to the world as a nation of 
warriors ; they had proved that they were able to defend them- 
selves. But they had become filled with a love of war for its 
own sake, which hindered their development when peace came. 
In fact, though the people had gained something by their years 
of fighting, they probably lost more than they gained. 



u6 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



King Edward died soon after his son and left the throne to 
Richard, the oldest son of the Black Prince. Richard II. 
rivaled his ancestor, King John, in being the worst king that 
England ever had. Like his great-grandfather, Edward II., he 
was deposed and was soon after murdered. The story of how 
Henry 1\\. Henry V., and Henry VI. continued the Hundred 
Years' War must be left for another chapter. 

State what claims Edward had to the throne of France. 

I itsoiibe Edward's preparations for the war with France. 

Give an account of the battle of Crecy. 

Tell the storv of the siege of < 'alais ; of the heroism of the six citizens. 

Describe Prince Edward's ability as a ruler: as a commander. 

(live an account of the battle of Poitiers ; of the treaty of Bretigny. 

Give tin- results of the wars in France. 

Is ambition a g 1 or a bad quality for a man to have ? Do modern 

pins and modern methods <<\ warfare increase or diminish the number of 
wars ? Why did the yeomen make better soldiers than the serfs ? I low- 
did the crossbows differ from the bows of the English ? Why was the 
Black Prince right in giving the credit of the victor) to his father ? What 
are the first live great dates in English history ? Why were the six citi- 
zens of Calais greater heroes than the black Prince? Does war neces- 
sarily make a man hard-hearted ? What mistake did King Edward make 
in the education of his sou ? What makes a man superstitious ? 









CANNON IN THE BATTLE OX- CRECY. 



1^ fr r^ * 




CHAPTER XII. 

Wat Tyler. 

(?)-1381. 

In our study of the history of England we have reached the 
latter portion of the fourteenth century. That was over five 
hundred years ago. Let us stop in our story of kings and princes, 
of parliaments and battles, and see what England had become at 
this time. We have seen how the English people retained their 
love of liberty in spite of all oppression, and how at last, after all 
the ups and downs of nobles and kings, the}- had begun again, 
through their representatives in Parliament, to have a voice in the 
government of the country. We have learned that the common 
man was the man to be depended upon ; that if English victories 
were to be won, the yeomen ware to win them. The English 
yeomen were far in advance of the common people of any other 
European country. Was it not due partly, at least, to that 
individual character, that importance of the individual man, 
which we saw in the Anglo-Saxon when we first met him? In 
telling the stories of Alfred and William, of Becket and De Mont- 
fort, it has not been easy to describe the life of the people, or to 



Il8 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

see how in his everyday life the individual man was beginning to 
assert himself. 

When the Angles and Saxons first came to Britain, it was for 
the sake of plunder. They remained upon the island because 
of its fertile soil. The Danes also left their homes in Den- 
mark because they found it easier to raise food in England. 
From the very beginning, then, England was an agricultural 
country. Except for some lead and tin, England sent to 
other countries nothing but wheat. The English people bought 
from foreign countries as little as possible, because they preferred 
to keep their gold and silver, which they considered alone made 
wealth. The}' would sell what they could, but were unwilling to 
buy more than was necessary. 

About the time when Robert Bruce was winning the inde- 
pendence of Scotland, the English farmers began to turn their 
attention to raising sheep, from which they obtained what was 
considered the best fleece in the world. But, as a writer of 
that day said : " The English as yet know no more what to do 
with their wool than the sheep that bore it." They sent it across 
to Flanders, now called Belgium, where it was made into woolen 
cloth. This cloth was sent back across the Channel and purchased 
in England. 

The prejudice against buying from abroad prevented any 
great importation of woolen cloths until after the English 
successes in the Hundred Years' War. Except the rich, the 
people of England contented themselves with clothing of home 
manufacture. But the wealthier classes were wearing more and 
more costly clothing. Their garments were made of silk and 
satin, and cloth of gold, and new fashions in dress came into 
use. The long hose of the previous century, reaching from the 
feet to the hips, were replaced by knee stockings and " small 
clothes," somewhat like the knickerbockers of to-day. The gal- 
lants at court wore shoes often three feet long, with toes turned 



WAT TYLER. 



II 9 



up and curled like horns, and fastened to the knees with silver 
chains. 

After the English victories at Crecy and Calais, luxuries 
became more common in England. The rich were very extrava- 
gant in their dress, and even the poor began to wear imported 
clothing. In spite of acts of Parliament in opposition to this 
importation, it continued to in- 
crease, until factories for the mak- 
ing of woolen cloth were erected 
in England. Queen Philippa, 
whose home had been in the 
midst of the woolen factories of 
Flanders, brought over from that 
country skilled workmen, and 
the manufacture of woolen cloth 
become an established industry 
in England. Wool thus came to 
be one of the greatest sources 
of wealth. Even the House of 
Lords, the highest court in Eng- 
land, has shown its appreciation 
of the importance of wool to the 
nation by calling the chair occu- 
pied by the Lord Chancellor the 
Woolsack, because the crimson 
cushion which makes its seat is 

filled with wool. No longer an agricultural people only, the 
English were beginning to be a manufacturing nation. 

To establish a business it is necessary to bring together buyer 
and seller. In a country where there are no railroads or tele- 
graphs or even stage lines, and where the roads are poor, people 
dislike to travel. Yet if a man has anything to sell, he must find 
the man who wishes to buy. On this account, fairs were held, 




A FOURTEENTH CENTURY GALLANT. 



120 FIRST STEPS 1 \ THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

now and then, here and there, throughout the country. At these 
fairs were gathered all persons in the neighborhood who had 
anything to sell or anything to buy, or who wished to engage in 
trade or barter. Traveling salesmen from the city, with their 
packs well filled, also attended them. 

Bunyan, in his " Pilgrim's Progress." gives this interesting de- 
scription of one of these fairs : " The name of that town is Vanity, 
and at the town there is a fair kept, called Vanity Fair. This fair 
is no new, erected business, but a thing of ancient standing. I will 
showyou the original of it. Years ago the path that the pilgrims 
made to the city lay through the town of Vanity. | It was] con- 
trived here to set up a fair wherein should be sold all sorts of 
vanity, and that it should last all the year long : therefore, at this 
fair are all such merchandise sold, as houses, lands, trades, places, 
honors, preferments, titles, countries, kingdoms, wives, husbands, 
children, masters, servants, silver, gold, precious pearls, precious 
stones, and what not; and moreover at this fair there is at all times 
to be seen juggling, cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, and 
rogues, and that, of every kind." 

The fairs were crowded with men'}- throngs of country folk, 
dressed in their best, bent on getting the most enjoyment as well 
as the best bargains. The farmer was present, with his fat cattle; 
his good wife with eggs and poultry ; the servant looking for a 
master; the village beauty buying a ribbon to add to her costume 
at the next holiday revel. These fairs were all held by royal license 
or permission, and after a time to some of the towns was given 
the sole right to trade in certain articles like lead, tin, and wood. 
These goods could not be purchased or sold anywhere else. The 
larger towns strove to obtain these fairs, and often purchased the 
right from the king. 

Buying and selling were also regulated by merchants who 
formed guilds. The mechanics and craftsmen united in craft 
guilds; as, for instance, the guild of the jewelers and the guild of 



WAT TYLER. 121 

the shoemakers. Every person who wished to make shoes was 
required to belong to the guild. The officers of the guild put 
their mark upon each shoe manufactured, thereby attesting its 
good quality. Each guild thus regulated everything in its par- 
ticular trade, determined the price of goods and also that of 
labor, and admitted or refused to admit new workmen. Thus 
the blessing of being able to work as one pleased, and where one 
pleased, and for what wages one pleased, was a thing unknown 
in the days of Edward 111. 

As the wealthier people grew more and more extravagant in the 
clothing they wore, the\- began to find it necessary to make im- 
provements in their homes. Previous to this period the furniture 
in English houses was scanty, and of crude manufacture. Only 
during the latter part of the reign of Edward III. did chairs 
come into use instead of stools and benches. Carpets also began 
to take the place of rushes on the floors. As these rushes were 
seldom changed, they often became very filthy and caused much 
sickness. .Among the common people, however, such luxuries 
as chairs and carpets were still unknown. Their houses con- 
tained no unnecessary furniture ; indeed, there was no place for 
any, as a house lmd almost invariably but one room. Of course 
they were much better than the huts of the time of Caradoc, yet 
they were very cheap when contrasted with the poorest homes of 
the farmers of to-day. In the building of houses, as elsewhere, 
the change that was going on in the fourteenth century showed 
itself. Stone took the place of mud, and second stories began to 
appear, jutting out over the first. The upper chambers were com- 
monly used as sleeping rooms, and were reached by staircases 
built on the outside. 

These houses, with overhanging second stories, made the 
streets of the larger towns and cities even more narrow than they 
were before. A street fifteen feet wide was considered very broad 
in those days. It had no sidewalks, and was made higher in the 



122 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

middle, so that when it rained the water ran down to the edge, 
and then, if the ground sloped enough, flowed along close to the 
houses. There were no street lights, and there was little travel 
by night. The streets were unpaved, and were frequently ex- 
tremely muddy. Pools of stagnant water and heaps of refuse 
were common, for not even the largest cities had any system 
of sewerage, or any officials whose business it was to keep the 
streets clean. It is not strange that sickness was very common, 
and that, when disease became epidemic, the loss of life was 
almost beyond imagination. 

Soon after the battle of Crecy a terrible plague spread over 
England. " The Black Death," as it was called, had previously 
ravaged the whole of Europe, but nowhere were its effects so 
disastrous as in England. Not only in the cities, with their dirt 
and filth, but even in the country villages, death knocked at 
every door, and often the number of the dead was so great that 
there were not enough living to bun- them. More than half of 
all the inhabitants of England perished at the first visit of the 
plague. Several times during the next half century the plague 
returned, with great but less deadly severity. 

We might suppose that such an epidemic would teach the 
people the necessity of cleanliness, but it seems to have done 
very little good in that respect. On the other hand, the Black 
Death had a result which we might not expect, — it caused the 
first strike in English history. After the terror had subsided, so 
that the farmers attempted to cultivate the fields again, they 
found that so many had died from the plague that there were not 
enough laborers left to do the necessary work. The few who 
were able to work demanded higher wages, and for more than 
thirty years a contest ensued between employers and employed, 
or between capital and labor. 

As England was an agricultural community, most of its in- 
habitants were employed in the fields. The land was owned by 



WAT TYLER. 



123 



a comparatively small number of persons, and was rented by 
them to tenants. These tenants were, in a sense, slaves or serfs, 
for they could not leave the land which they tilled. They were 
forced to do certain work for the landowner, such as tilling his 
personal land and raising his crops. In early times they were 
even compelled, at his command, to follow him to the wars. 
After the Black Death the tenants began to demand the right 
to buy land ; thus they 
would become free land- 
owners instead of tenants. 
The general discontent 
among the common people 
was shown by the strikes 
of the free laborers and 
these demands of the ten- 
ants, who also ran away, 
and in other parishes, where 
they were unknown, pre- 
tended that they were free 
laborers. The discontent 
was increased by certain 
laws of Parliament direct- 
ing landowners not to sell 
their land to tenants, and 

forbidding the common people from traveling from one parish to 
another. The people were ready for a revolt when Parliament 
passed a law providing for a poll tax, or tax upon each poll or 
head, meaning a tax upon each person. The tax was levied not 
only upon the laborers themselves, but also upon their wives and 
all children over fifteen years of age. This tax was often four- 
pence a head, and as the average wages of the laborer was a 
penny a day, it frequently happened that he had to work several 
weeks in order to obtain money enough to pay his tax. 







A MERCHANTS HOUSE, FIFTEENTH (T.NTURY. 



124 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

One day a man named Walter, whose business it was to cover 
roofs with tiles, was at work not far from his house when he heard 
the screams of his young daughter. He jumped to the ground 
and rushed home. At the door he met one of the collectors of 
taxes, who had been wickedly insulting the girl, and killed him 
on the spot. The neighbors flocked to the assistance of Walter 
the tiler, or Wat Tyler, as he has always been called since, who 
in his anger urged them to proceed to London and demand relief 
from their wrongs. 

Headed by Tyler the little band started, but long before it 
reached London it became an army of a hundred thousand. 
It was joined by the people of every village through which 
it passed and the news of its march brought great numbers 
from every direction. Wat Tyler led the army, but he had able 
assistants in Jack Straw and John Ball. When the crowd had 
nearly reached London, John Ball preached a sermon, taking as 
his text : — 

■• When Adam delved and Eve span, 
Who was then the gentleman ? " 

He told his hearers that it was not right for some people to have 
all the good things of life without labor and for others to work 
hard for their living, and claimed that England would never be 
happy until the people had all things rn common. 

The army entered the city and for three weeks held possession 
of London. They captured the Lord Chancellor and the head 
collector of taxes, and put them both to death. They burned 
the palace of John of Gaunt, the uncle of the king, and ransacked 
many other mansions. They destroyed whatever silver and gold 
plate they could find, but took none of it for their own use. One 
man, who was caught stealing a piece of silver, was hanged by 
his companions. 

The mob demanded of the king and Parliament that taxes 



WAT TYLER. 



125 



should be lightened, and that the laws concerning laborers should 
be made more just. King Richard, a youth of sixteen, fearlessly 
rode out to meet the peasants. 

" I am your king and lord, good people," he cried. " What 
will you?" 




KING RICHARD II. ADDRESSING THE MOB. 

" We will." the mob shouted, " that you free us forever, us and 
our lands; and that we be never named nor held for serfs." 

" I grant it," the king replied. 

Richard's promise was hailed with shouts of delight ; but the 
peasants were not ready to obey his command and go home. 

One day as Tyler was talking with the king, one of the royal 
attendants stabbed and instantly killed him. The mob was now 



126 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

without a leader, and was soon overpowered and dispersed. Many 
were put to death, and the rest were compelled to return to their 
homes. Not only did Parliament fail to make the burden lighter, 
but it passed laws which bore even more heavily upon the people. 
King Richard himself failed to keep any of his promises. 

But the laws of Parliament were never enforced. The land- 
holders were too much afraid of another revolt to press their 
tenants more than necessary. Even the laws forbidding the sale 
of land were ignored, and little by little the tenants threw off their 
serfdom and became landowners. Within a hundred years serf- 
dom had almost entirely disappeared. Here again the old Anglo- 
Saxon idea of the value of the individual man was showing itself. 
It was centuries after this before serfdom ceased among the other 
nations of Europe. 

Wat Tyler was but a common man, and was led on by a 
desire for vengeance. We know little more of him than has been 
told here, but we may consider him a fair sample of the common 
people of his day. Quiet and peaceful for the most part, Wat 
Tyler and his friends endured hardships without complaint. But 
when they felt that their rights were taken away and that they 
were being oppressed without reason, then they rose in their 
might and said " No." Such was the English spirit at the close 
of the fourteenth century, and such it has ever been. 

Tell why the English common people were superior to the peasants of 
Europe. 

Give an account of early English trade ; the introduction of wool- 
raising ; of manufactures ; of the fairs ; of the guilds. 

Describe the dress of this period ; the houses ; the furniture ; the 
streets ; the condition of the laborers. 

Tell the story of the Black Death ; the first strike ; Tyler's rebellion. 

How had the English people lost their liberties? Why is agriculture 
the first industry adopted by any people? Were the English right or wrong 
in their ideas of what made wealth? Next to food, what is most necessary 



WAT TYLER. 



127 



for the comfort of man? Why did the victories in France change the life 
of the English people? How were the guilds of advantage to both buyer 
and seller? What is the most common source of disease? Are strikes 
the best way to settle disputes? Do you suppose that Parliament did not 
realize that it was overtaxing the people? Was Tyler's rebellion justified? 
What is the origin of many English names? 




costumes, 1350-1400. 




CHAPTER XIII 



Prince Hal. 



1388-1422. 



EDWARD III. had five sons, four of whom grew to manhood. 
They were Edward the Black Prince; Lionel, Duke of Clarence; 
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster ; and Edmund, Duke of 
York. John of Gaunt had more ability and power than his 
brothers, and after the death of the Black Prince he became 
his father's principal adviser. When Richard II., son of the 
Black Prince, came to the throne, his uncle, John of Gaunt, took 
control of affairs until the boy became of age. After the death 
of John, his son Henry, Duke of Lancaster, acquired the same 
power, and when King Richard was deposed, his influence was 
strong enough to compel Parliament to choose him as Richard's 
successor. As Lionel was older than John of Gaunt, his descend- 
ants had stronger claims to the throne than Henry of Lancaster. 
This failure to follow the direct order of succession was the cause 
of a long war in England many years later, which will be the 
subject of the next chapter. 



PRINCE HAL. 



129 



Soon after the coronation of Henry IV., Richard II. died, 
leaving no children, and Henry's title to the throne was deemed 
secure. During his reign the troubles with the common people 
continued, the discontent growing as the complaints were un- 
heeded. There was no outbreak, however, and there were no 
foreign wars. Henry's reign was quiet and peaceful, and, in gen- 
eral, a period of progress in English history. 

The Prince of Wales, heir to the throne, was a youth who 
gave his father many an unhappy hour. Prince Hal, as he was 
called not only when prince but when king, was a wild, fun-loving 
boy, at some form of mischief at all hours of the day. Henry 
IV. was a strict, stern parent, who was unable to make any 
allowance for the boyishness of his son. Whenever he heard of 
any of Prince Hal's mischief, he became angry with the boy. 
This lack of sympathy on the part of the king made him exag- 
gerate Prince Hal's fun into wickedness, and there were those 
about the king who were glad of an opportunity to increase the 
father's anxiety. Yet the young prince was popular. At court 
he was almost worshiped by the young men of his own age. 
It has been said of him that : 

" He was indeed the glass 
Wherein the noble youth did dress themselves." 

But it was not at the court alone that young Hal was popular. 
" Whenever the prince appeared in public, which was often," 
says a recent writer, " he was greeted with popular enthusiasm, 
so hearty that its sincerity could not be questioned. He was 
surrounded at every step; the good wives and daughters of the 
town leaned far out of the gabled windows to flourish a hand- 
kerchief, throw a kiss, or spread bouquets beneath his feet. His 
smile was so bright and genial, his voice so winning, and his 
gratitude so happy, that the great heart of the metropolis beat 
9 



130 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



with glowing affection, and he was fairly idolized by every man, 
woman, and child among them." 

Underneath all the prince's love of fun and mischief there 
was an earnestness and sincerity which is none too common 
among kings. This is well shown in the story that has 'been 
commonly told of the 
time when the prince 
appeared before the 
chief justice of the 
realm. He went into 
the court-room and 
demanded that a 
friend who was on 
trial should be set 
free. The upright 
and fearless judge re- 
plied that the law 
must be followed, but 
that the king could 
give his pardon after- 
wards. Prince Hal 
attempted to rescue 
the prisoner, but the 
judge sternly ordered 
h im to k e e p the 
peace. The prince in 
a rage strode across 
the court-room and 

drew his sword. The judge unmoved, and with even more stern- 
ness, said to the prince: 

" Sir, remember yourself. I am here in place of your sovereign 
lord and father, to whom you owe double obedience ; wherefore, 
eftsoons, in his name I command you to desist of your wilfulness, 




WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 
Where England's Great Men are Buried. 



PRINCE HAL. 131 

and from henceforward give good example to those who hereafter 
shall be your proper subjects. And now for your contempt and 
disobedience I commit you to the prison of the king's bench, 
where you shall remain until the pleasure of your father be 
further known." 

The prince saw the justice of the judge's reproof. He put 
back his sword, bowed penitently, and proceeded to prison. This 
submission of the heir to the throne to the laws of the kingdom 
not only pleased his father, but also greatly increased his popu- 
larity among the people of England. 

When Henry IV. died, Prince Hal became king. The respon- 
sibilities of royalty sobered him at once, and Henry V. has always 
been reckoned one of England's ablest kings. Though the dis- 
content of the common people continued, little by little the 
landlords privately acknowledged the justice of their demands 
and granted them more freedom. However, England was on the 
verge of a revolt or revolution during the early part of Henry's 
reign. He realized that war at home could be prevented by a 
popular war abroad, little considering that a foreign war could do 
England harm. 

Prince Hal, like most of his Plantagenet ancestors, was an am- 
bitious man. He was not content to be king merely of England, 
Wales, and Ireland. When he looked at the English standard 
and saw the French fleur-de-lis as prominent as the English 
lion, and when he heard himself called king of France, as he did 
when he took the coronation oath, he was not satisfied with the 
title only. His great-grandfather, Edward III., when he unjustly 
claimed the throne of France, took this title to himself, and united 
the French standard with the English. Although by the treaty 
he gave up his claim to that throne, he retained the title. It was 
held also by his successors, Richard II. and Henry IV. Henry 
V. determined that he would be king of France in fact as well as 
in name. Therefore he renewed the Hundred Years' War. 



132 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 




Henry's ambition was the principal cause of the war, but the 
discontent at home gave him, he thought, strong additional rea- 
son ; besides, the peculiar conditions in France seemed to make 
this a suitable time. The king, Charles VI., 
was insane, and his eldest son, called the Dau- 
phin, ruled in his place. A quarrel had broken 
out between the Dauphin and the king's 
brother, the Duke of Burgundy, the most 
powerful man in France. Henry asked the 
French king for his daughter Catherine in 
marriage. The dowry he demanded was in- 
tentionally so great that Charles declined. 
Henry at once claimed that he had been in- 
sulted. He declared war and led an army into 
France. 

The battle of Agincourt (A-zhan-koor') was 
merely a repetition of Crecy and Poitiers. 
The English made use of the same tactics, and, 
though the French army was much the larger, 
it was completely destroyed. Henry then 
made a treaty with the Duke of Burgundy 
(Bur'-gun-di), in which was arranged the future 
of France. Charles VI., by the terms of 
' the treaty of Troyes (Trwa'), though insane 
and unable to act as king, was to retain the 
title as long as he lived. Henry of England 
was to marry the daughter of the king and act 
as regent, thereby having complete power in 
France. When King Charles died, the throne 
was to go to Henry ; the rights of the Dauphin were completely 
ignored. 

A year or two passed. Henry and Catherine were married ; 
a son and heir was born ; and the king's cup of happiness seemed 




THE ENGLISH STAND- 
ARD. 



PRINCE HAL. 133 

to be full. But at the very height of his glory Henry died, 
leaving everything to his eleven-months-old son, Henry VI. 

The baby king was fortunate in the regents who governed the 
kingdom during his minority. The dukes of Bedford and Glou- 
cester (Glos'-ter) were wise and capable statesmen, distinguished 
soldiers, and loyal to both king and country. The Duke of Bed- 
ford took charge of the army in France, while Gloucester managed 
affairs at home. The mad King Charles died the same year as 
Henry V., and the Dauphin, who had been regent at the beginning 
of the war, was dead also. The prince who bore the title of Dau- 
phin was an unambitious youth, irresolute, and easily guided by 
those about him. Not only did he make no attempt to recover 
the throne, but he even talked of the possibility that he had no 
right to be king and suggested that it would be better for him to 
go to Scotland and live as a simple knight. Even his friends had 
so little confidence in him that they never called him king — only 
Dauphin, or heir to the throne. When Bedford laid siege to 
the important city of Orleans (Or'-le-anz) and was starving it 
into surrender, the Dauphin made no move for its rescue. 

While the Dauphin was thus idle, an unknown and unexpected 
avenger of French wrongs appeared. Three years before the 
coronation of Henry V., there was born in a little village on the 
very border of France a girl named Jeanne d'Arc (Zhan Dark). 
Joan of Arc, as the English people translated the name, was the 
daughter of a very poor and humble couple exactly like their 
neighbors in the quiet, peaceful town. All the villagers were on 
the side of the Dauphin, and as talk of war was in the mouth of 
everyone, Joan from her infancy was filled with a desire to drive 
the English from the country. Ever did her heart long for some 
avenger to arise who should wake the Dauphin from his inactivity 
and rescue France. 

One day, when she was not more than thirteen, she was 
spinning in the garden ; suddenly a bright light seemed to shine 



134 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

around her from which she thought she heard a voice saying, 
" Joan, be good and constant at church, for the King of heaven 
has chosen thee to save France." 

Though greatly terrified, the child faltered : " Sir, how can 
I save France? I am only a poor girl. I cannot ride or lead 
armed men." 

Again and again such voices came to her, until finally, after 
three or four years, she claimed that St. Michael, the captain of 
the hosts of heaven, appeared and urged her not to tarry, for 
the time had come when she must save France. When she wept 
and pleaded that she knew nothing of war, St. Michael sternly 
said : " What God commands, do fearlessly. St. Catherine and 
St. Margaret will help thee." 

Joan now firmly believed that she had been appointed by 
heaven to save her country. She dared tell no one of her vision, 
knowing that her family would forbid her to leave home. At 
last, following out the careful directions of the voices, she went 
to the governor of a town near by and told him her visions. He 
laughed at her, and advised her to go home to her father ; but Joan 
was not to be turned aside by a laugh. Little by little she gained 
a following among the superstitious country people, who believed 
in her mission. They provided her with a horse and a plain suit 
of steel. Then, with a few followers, she set out on horseback 
for Chinon (She-non), where the Dauphin held his court. 

The pleasure-loving attendants of the Dauphin heard with 
scorn the story of " The Maid," as she was called. They had no 
desire to give up their life of ease for the hardships of camp, and 
still less to be led to battle by a woman. But the people, by this 
time, so firmly believed in Joan that the Dauphin did not dare to 
anger them by refusing to give her a hearing. He received her 
in the midst of his splendidly attired courtiers, he alone being in 
plain dress. A peasant maiden would scarcely be supposed to 
think that the soberly clad man could be the prince. Joan was 



PRINCE HAL. 



135 




From the fainting by Schc 

JOAN OF ARC'S VICTORIOUS ENTRY INTO ORLEANS. 

not deceived ; she knew the Dauphin instantly, fell upon her 
knees before him, and cried : " The King of heaven has sent me 
to lead you to Rheims (Remes) for your coronation. Why will 
you not believe me? God has pity on you and on your people." 



136 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Her earnestness so impressed him that she was allowed to 
lead an army to the relief of Orleans, which was now in a desper- 
ate condition. When she appeared before the army on her horse, 
holding in her hand a white banner embroidered with the lilies 
of France, and a picture of Christ and the Virgin Mary, the en- 
thusiasm of the soldiers had no bounds. 

The English leaders held her in contempt, but the ignorant 
English soldiers thought her a witch and would not fight against 
her. The commanders were obliged to give up the siege and 
withdraw their armies. Having relieved Orleans, Joan tried to 
persuade the Dauphin to go to Rheims to be crowned. He 
really only half believed in her, and he exaggerated the dangers 
in the way, but her eagerness finally overcame his reluctance. 
When Joan was asked what reward she desired, she would take 
nothing for herself. She only requested that her native town 
should henceforth be exempt from taxation. 

With Orleans taken and the Dauphin crowned as King 
Charles VII., Joan thought her mission ended, and asked permis- 
sion to return to her home. This the king would not permit. 
Misfortune now came to her. Charles VII. would not follow up 
her victories, the nobles did not believe in her, and the English 
leaders made every effort to capture her. At last they succeeded, 
through the treachery of one of the French nobles. 

Great was the rejoicing among the English. Joan was brought 
before the courts, tried as a witch, and condemned to be burned 
unless she would acknowledge that the voices were false. As she 
refused, she was burned at the stake in Rouen, claiming to the 
last, "My voices have not deceived me."' All through the trial 
the king of France made no effort to save her. " Say of me 
what you will," Joan cried, " but let the king be. He is a good 
Christian and did not trust in me. He is the noblest Christian 
of all Christians! " A strange trust in an unworthy man ! 

Before Joan of Arc died, her life might have been called a 



PRINCE HAL. 137 

failure. The French remained idle, and the English held most 
of France. The French had deserted Joan, and the English 
burned her as a witch. The news of her death aroused the 
French ; they threw aside their sloth, and little by little drove 
the English from France until Henry VI. possessed only the 
town of Calais. At the time, English writers found nothing but 
evil to say of the Maid of Orleans ; but, as prejudice passed 
away, the English people began to think of her as she was — a 
true, pure girl, obedient to what she thought her duty. In 
France she is considered a saint. 

Tell how Henry IV. came to be king of England. 

Tell the story of Prince Hal : his youth, his popularity, his experience 
at court, his ambitions, his successes. 

Give an account of the conditions in France at the time of Prince Hal's 
succession to the throne of England. 

Tell the story of Joan of Arc : her girlhood, her visions, her experi- 
ences at the French court, her life as a soldier, her death. 

Why did some ot King Henry's courtiers try to influence him against 
Prince Hal ? What made the prince popular with the people? Why 
does responsibility often change a man's character ? Had Edward III. 
the right to unite the French standard with the English? How could a 
popular foreign war prevent civil war? What were the reasons for the 
inactivity of the French? Why was Joan successful? Why did not 
Charles rescue her ? 




THE SADDLE OF HENRY V. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

wl ^ Warwick the Kina-Maker. 

1420(?)-1471. 

Edward IE was a weak king, and Richard IE was weaker, 
but Henry VI. was the weakest ruler that ever sat on the throne 
of England. While he was a child, the government was well 
administered by his uncles, the dukes of Bedford and Gloucester. 
When Bedford died and Gloucester became the real ruler of 
the kingdom, his lofty position brought with it the hatred of the 
other nobles. When the king became of age, and later was 
married to Margaret of Anjou, the opposition to Gloucester grew 
greater. Margaret hated this uncle of her husband, and, uniting 
with his enemies, succeeded in having him assassinated. From 
this time on the childish, pious, monk-king was at the mercy of 
the rival nobles of England. 

Among these nobles we find Richard, Duke of York; Beau- 
fort (Bu'-fort), Duke of Somerset ; and Neville (Nev'-il), Earl of 
Warwick (Wor'-ik). Let us see who these three men were. 
Richard, Duke of York, belonged to the royal family. He was 



WARWICK THE KING-MAKER. 



139 



a descendant of Edmund, fifth son of Edward III., and his 
mother, Anne Mortimer, v/as the only living descendant of Lionel, 
the third son of Edward III. Richard, therefore, was the rightful 
heir to the throne, as Henry VI. was descended only from John, 
the fourth son of Edward III. But it will be remembered that 
Henry IV. had been chosen king by Parliament. Naturally he 
had been followed by his son and then by his grandson. In fact, 
little if any attention was paid to the claims of Richard of York. 
Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, was a cousin of the king. He, as 
well as the king, was a descendant of John of Gaunt. Henry VI. 
had been married several years and had no children, and Somerset 




WARWICK CASTLE. 



was therefore heir to the throne. He was a favorite with Queen 
Margaret, but very unpopular with the people of England. 

The third noble, the Earl of Warwick, commonly called the 
" Stout Earl," was the greatest hero of his times. From boy- 
hood he was very popular. He was always frank and honorable, 
and his word was never broken ; he was in every sense a thorough 



14O FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Englishman. He was without question the wealthiest man in 
the country, and he used his riches in a way to make himself even 
more popular. His palace in London was open to every visitor, 
and no human being ever went away hungry from his door. 
Fighting men were permitted at any time to enter his kitchen 
and carry away as large a piece of meat as they could pick up on 
the points of their daggers. At one time, it is said, thirty thou- 
sand people were fed daily at the different mansions of the Earl 
of Warwick. He was a personal enemy of Somerset, and a loyal 
friend to Richard of York. 

The Duke of York had been sent to Ireland as governor, in 
order to remove him from the court. His friends, however, re- 
mained near the king, and York's interests were well cared for. 
One day, so the story goes, Somerset and Warwick met in the 
Temple Gardens, each attended by a crowd of followers. A 
discussion arose as to which of the royal houses, Lancaster or 
York, had the right to the throne. An appeal was made to their 
followers, but they declined to enter into the quarrel. Warwick 
thereupon plucked a white rose from a neighboring bush, saying, 
as Shakespeare words it : 

" Let him that is a true-born gentleman, 
And stands upon the honor of his birth, 
If he suppose that I have pleaded truth, 
From off this brier pluck a white rose with me." 

Somerset immediately replied : 

" Let him that is no coward, nor no flatterer, 
But dare maintain the purity of the truth, 
Pluck a red rose from off this thorn with me." 

From this time on the white rose was the symbol of the Duke 
of York and his adherents, while the house of Lancaster and its 
followers wore the red rose. The wars that resulted kept Eng- 



WARWICK THE KING-MAKER. I4I 

land in a turmoil for thirty years, and have always been called 
the " Wars of the Roses." 

While the feud between the families of York and Somerset 
was at its height, a son and heir was born to the king. Somerset 
was no longer to be feared as the next king of England, but 
doubtless his influence would continue to be powerful. The 
friends of York, who had hoped that York's popularity and the 
hatred of Somerset would make the former rather than the latter 
king on the death of Henry VI., now realized that the contest 
must be between York and this heir of the Lancaster family. It 
was not Somerset only who now carried the red rose, but all the 
adherents of the reigning house. 

Just before the birth of his son, King Henry fell ill with the 
disease which he had inherited from his grandfather, King Charles 
VI. of France. He became insane, and for more than a year 
remained speechless and almost motionless. For some time the 
queen was able to keep secret the condition of the king. Finally, 
Parliament, hearing that its king was a madman, proclaimed 
a protectorate, and appointed Richard of York regent. For a 
time York was supreme, and Somerset was entirely deprived of 
power. Matters moved along quietly until the king grew better, 
and recovered control of the government ; then Somerset came 
into power, and York retired to his country residence. Again the 
king lost his reason, and again York was made protector. The 
ups and downs continued ; now Somerset was in prison as a 
traitor, now York was in custody. 

There seemed to be no way to settle the long-standing quarrel 
except by a resort to arms. York and Warwick raised a great 
army, while Somerset brought together the king's forces. York 
marched his army against Somerset, all the time claiming 
that he was loyal to the king, but that Somerset must be pun- 
ished. The royal army gallantly held its own until suddenly the 
forces of the Earl of Warwick broke through in the rear, and, with 



142 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



loud shouts of " A Warwick ! A Warwick ! " poured upon it a 
deadly hail of arrows. Somerset was slain. 

At the conqueror's request, the king summoned a new Par- 
liament, which appointed York protector and made Warwick 
governor of Calais. For two years the king remained in retire- 
ment, under the care of the queen. The new Duke of Somerset 
succeeded to his father's possessions and to his father's hatred of 




THE TOWER OF I I >M>< >N. 



the family of York. At length the king regained his reason, 
assumed authority, and reappointed the queen's favorites to posi- 
tions of power. At Henry's request, a love feast was held. The 
procession was headed by the king, wearing his crown and bear- 
ing his scepter; then followed the queen, led by the Duke of 
York; behind them, hand in hand, came the former enemies 
Somerset and Salisbury (Sawlz'-ber-e), Warwick and Exeter. 
Mass was chanted, and a grand Te Deum was sung. Who was 
in earnest ? Probably only the kin<j. 



WARWICK THE KING-MAKER. I43 

Two years had not passed before a battle took place in which 
Warwick was successful. A later battle went the other way, and 
Warwick fled to Calais. Parliament was called and York, War- 
wick, Salisbury, and York's two eldest sons were declared traitors. 
In another battle the white rose was victorious. A new Parliament 
repealed the acts of the preceding one, and York entered London 
in triumph. 

Up to this time, the leader of the white roses had claimed 
perfect loyalty. Henry VI. was king, and York was fighting the 
lords who were injuring the country. His ambition, however, 
had been steadily growing, and now he showed what his real 
desire had been. When the archbishop said to him, " Will not 
my Lord of York pay his duty to the king?" the duke replied, 
" I know no one in the realm who ought not first to visit me." 
York immediately presented a petition to Parliament, stating his 
claim to the throne, and tracing his line back to Lionel, Duke of 
Clarence, the elder brother of John of Gaunt, ancestor of Henry 
VI. The lords were none too well disposed toward the Duke 
of York, and refused to discuss the petition without the king's 
consent. 

Henry said : " My father was king, and his father was king. 
I have worn the crown for forty years from my cradle. You have 
all sworn fealty to me as your sovereign. Your fathers have done 
the like to mine. How can my right be questioned ? " He ordered 
them to search the records and establish his right. After much 
discussion a compromise was made. Henry was to remain king, 
but York was to succeed him. This ought to have satisfied every- 
one who had the real interests of the kingdom at heart, except, 
perhaps, Queen Margaret and her son Edward, Prince of Wales. 

Peace did not follow. Margaret went to the north and raised 
an army. At first she was successful, but when she reached 
London she could not stay. " The foreign woman," as she was 
called, was as unpopular as the new Duke of York was popular. 



144 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

When he entered London, the shouts of the populace rang from 
one end of the city to the other. Margaret had already fled, and 
in the battle that followed the York forces were completely 
victorious. 

Warwick put Henry in the Tower of London and crowned 
the Duke of York as Edward IV. Henry had never enjoyed his 
kingship, and in his mind, 

" Kingdoms are but cares ; 
State is devoid of stay .; 
Riches are but snares, 
And hasten to decay." 

He liked the solitude of his life in the Tower, and would have 
been content to stay there if that could " stop the slaughter" of 
his people. 

Margaret could not rest. Strangely she became reconciled 
to her greatest enemy, Warwick, who was angered at some act of 
Edward. Together they defeated the king, brought Henry from 
his prison, and placed him upon the throne again. It was only 
for six months, however. Edward returned, Warwick was killed, 
and Henry's son was captured. 

"What brought you to England?" asked Edward of York. 

" To seek my father's crown and my own inheritance," replied 
Edward of Lancaster, undaunted by the danger he was in. 

Continued war had brutalized King Edward ; he struck the 
boy in the face with his gauntlet. This seemed to be a signal; 
for Edward, the last of the true Lancaster line, was seized and 
killed. Henry died soon after, though how he came to his death 
is not known. The heart and the courage of the queen were 
broken ; she had no longer a son or a husband to fight for. 

Edward IV. reigned twenty-two years over a distracted king- 
dom. At his death he left two sons, thirteen and nine years old, 
and the elder was proclaimed king as Edward V., with his uncle 



WARWICK THE KING-MAKER. 



145 



Richard as regent until he reached his majority. Richard began 
at once to carry out a plan to put himself in power. He placed the 
young king and his brother in the Tower. He accused Hastings, 
his own intimate friend, of treason, because he knew that he was 
too honorable to uphold the steps which he intended to take. 
He sent his agents and spies throughout England, and arranged 




/•'row the /minting by Delaroche. 

THE YOUNG PRINCES IN THE TOWER. 

that the citizens should gather together and command that the 
crown of England be placed on his head. The fickle people fell 
into the trap, and Richard was, as he said, " persuaded to become 
their king." His coronation followed, and the short reign of 
Edward V. was at an end. 

Richard was not sure of his kingdom even then, and in order to 
establish himself firmly he was willing to do anything, no matter 
10 



I46 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

how revolting. Two ruffians, it is said, entered the prison of 
his two young nephews at night and smothered them. Who 
could now oppose Richard ? The last of the Lancaster family 
was dead. He himself was the sole male survivor of the House 
of York except two young children, sons of his older brother, 
the Duke of Clarence; but what cared he for babies? 

A reign begun as was the reign of Richard III. could not be 
popular. Hatred of the usurper and murderer grew with great 
rapidity, and all that the people needed was a leader. This leader 
was found in Henry Tudor, Duke of Richmond, whose grand- 
mother was the widow of Henry V. and whose mother was a 
daughter of Somerset. Moreover, Henry Tudor was engaged to 
be married to Elizabeth of York, the sister of the murdered 
princes. Could Henry become king, he would represent the Lan- 
caster family, and his queen the house of York. The opponents 
of Richard gathered about the new leader, and at the battle 
of Bosworth Field, Richard was killed while fighting bravely. 
Henry Tudor was crowned Henry VII. on the field of battle. A 
few months later he and Elizabeth were married, and the Wars 
of the Roses were ended. 

What were these Wars of the Roses? Contests between the 
rival families of York and Lancaster. The story shows that it 
was merely a struggle between the great houses of England. 
Not alone were the royal houses of York and Lancaster engaged, 
but such great families as the Somersets, the Warwicks, the Salis- 
burys, the Exeters, and the Northamptons. It was only a contest 
for family power. And what was the result ? When Henry VII. 
took the throne there were no Yorks, no Lancasters, no Somer- 
sets, no Warwicks. The kingdom was bankrupt. All the families 
had lost fortunes and many of them were completely destroyed. 
Their great power was at an end. Henry VII. had nothing to 
fear from the nobles of the realm : his reign opened a new era in 
English history. 



WARWICK THE KING-MAKER. 



147 



State the conditions in England during the childhood and early man- 
hood of Henry VI. 

Describe the character of the Earl of Warwick ; the character of 
Henry VI.; the character of Richard. 

Give an account of the quarrel between Warwick and Somerset. 

Tell the story of the ups and downs in the struggle for power ; the 
reconciliation ; the success of the Duke of York. 

(iive the results of the Wars of the Roses. 

What were the real causes of the Wars of the Roses? Who was mostly 
at fault for their continuance? At first the struggle was for power, then 
for the throne; what brought about this change? What similar compro- 
mise had previously been made between two rival claimants to the throne? 
How was the success of Henry VII. the best possible thing that could have 
happened? 




TEMI'I.E GARDENS. 







CHAPTER XV 



John Cabot. 

(?)-1498 (?). 

With the end of the Wars of the Roses came the end of the 
Middle Ages. Modern history, in England at least, may be 
said to begin with the reign of Henry VII. Several things had 
happened during the fifteenth century which brought about great 
changes, and not the least of these was the invention of print- 
ing. About the middle of the century, a few years before the 
first battle in the Wars of the Roses, John Gutenberg began to 
print books in Mainz (Ments), a city of Germany. Previous to 
this time, all books were written by hand, like those that Alfred 
the Great used. Gutenberg shaped little pieces of metal into 
the forms of letters ; arranging these letters into words and 
sentences, he covered them with ink, pressed a paper down upon 
them, and a page was printed. 

This invention was carried into England by William Caxton, 
a London merchant who had learned the process of printing 



JOHN CABOT. 



1 49 



while visiting in Flanders. He set up his printing press " at the 
sign of the Red Pale," and advertised his books as " good chepe." 
His first book, " The Sayings of the Philosophers," was published 
during the reign of Edward VI. This book, a copy of which is 
in the British Museum, has no title page, but at the end Of the 
work appears this sentence, " The dictes or sayengis of the philo- 




THE FIRST SHEET FROM THE PRINTING PRESS. 

sophres, emprynted by me william Caxton at westmistre, the 
year of our lord MCCCCLxxvil." Caxton, though sixty years 
old when he began his work, translated, edited, or wrote, and 
printed sixty-four different books. Perhaps a monk might have 
written in the same period one copy each of sixty-four books, 
but Caxton printed them by the hundred. No longer were books 
such a luxury that they coul'd be owned only by the very few. 



150 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

While Gutenberg was experimenting with type in Germany, 
the Turks were besieging Constantinople. This city had been for 
more than a thousand years the capital of the eastern, or Greek 
empire — that part of the old Roman empire which had not been 
conquered by the barbarians. Though all knowledge of the 
ancient Greek civilization had been lost to the people of western 
Europe, it had been retained by the educated men of Constan- 
tinople. At length the Turks captured the city in the year 1453. 
Tin's date is one of the most important in the world's history, 
though not immediately connected with the history of England. 

The learned Greeks, compelled to flee from the city, found 
their way into Italy, France, and Spain. They earned a living 
by teaching; for the people were ready to be taught, and were 
interested in the old, but to them new Greek language and liter- 
ature. They admired the Greek architecture and sculpture as 
described to them by these fugitives A new spirit began to 
show itself — a desire to learn, a wish to know, an eagerness to 
accomplish something worth}- of being preserved for a thousand 
years! The "Revival of Learning' had begun But many years 
went by before it reached England ; so long as the nobles cared 
only to fight one another, there was no place for the new learning. 

Now and then during the Middle Ages a man was found who 
preferred adventure to commonplace fighting and acts of chivalry. 
Such a man was Marco Polo, an Italian, who not only visited 
Rome and Constantinople ami Jerusalem, but went on farther 
and farther eastward into the unknown regions of eastern Asia. 
He visited India and China ; and when he returned, he wrote a 
book giving an account of his travels. Other adventurers followed 
in his footsteps, and in time trade began between Europe and 
Asia. People were anxious to obtain the gold, the jewels, and 
the silks of these eastern countries. 

The merchants engaged in this trade were accustomed to go 
by vessel to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean and then 



JOHN CABOT. 



151 



travel across the deserts in large caravans. But the year 1453 
changed all this. The Turks were in control of the eastern end 
of the Mediterranean Sea and the Turkish pirates plundered 
all the vessels of Christian nations. Trade with the East came 
to an end. What was to be done ? Christian Europe did not 
dare to drive out the Turks ; it was too hard a task for them. 
If trade was to be renewed, new routes must be found. Could 
India be reached by water? Could ships sail down the west 
coast of Africa, reach the end of land, and then proceed east to 
Asia ? Such were the questions that navigators began to ask. 
Portuguese sailors, lit- 
tle by little, reached 
points farther south 
on the coast of Africa 
until, just before the 
end of the century, 
Vasco da Gama passed 
around the Cape of 
Good Hope and 
reached India in tri- 
umph. A new route 
had thus been found. 

Meanwhile an Italian, believing that the world was round but 
much smaller than it really is, conceived the idea that he might 
sail around the world, and that by sailing westward he might 
reach the scarcely known eastern lands We all know what ups 
and downs Columbus met as he tried to obtain a chance to prove 
his theory : how he could not persuade his native city of Genoa 
to furnish the means; how the king of Portugal deceived him ; 
how the king and queen of Spain were too busy to help him ; 
how he sent his brother to petition Henry VII. of England ; how 
he started for France and was recalled ; and how Queen Isabella 
furnished him with a part of the necessary funds. And after this 




£2 -■ : [J 



AN EARLY ENGLISH GRAMMAR SCHOOL. 



152 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

degree of success, we remember what difficulties he had in obtain- 
ing sailors ; what troubles these ignorant seamen caused him on 
the voyage ; how a mutiny was nearly successful ; and how, at 
last, he discovered the little island of Guanahani (Hwan-a-ha-ni), 
one of the West Indies. 

All this we well know, but it was a wonderful story in its day. 
Here the advantages of the printing press showed themselves : 
when Columbus returned to Spain, accounts of his journey were 
printed and scattered broadcast. They were carried to Italy and 
translated into Italian. They were printed in French and Ger- 
man, and they even reached England. One copy must have 
fallen into the hands of a sailor who, though born in Italy, had 
become a citizen of Bristol, England. 

John Cabot had spent nearly his whole life upon the water. 
He had sailed from Venice to almost every port on the Medi- 
terranean, and hail frequently passed through the Straits of 
Gibraltar to French and English harbors. He had traveled 
somewhat upon the land, and once at Mecca, the holy city of the 
Mohammedans, he had seen caravans from the East laden with 
spices and jewels. Like Columbus, he had studied geography 
and believed that the world was round, and not Hat. 

When he arrived in England on one of his voyages, he was 
asked to take command of an English vessel. He gladly ac- 
cepted the offer, and was so pleased with his new work that he 
decided to settle in Bristol, and become an Englishman. Mer- 
chants sent him here and there on various voyages, some even 
being voyages of discovery. Great and rich islands were supposed 
to exist somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, and Cabot set out to 
seek them. He did not find them, for they were not there, nor 
did he go far enough west to see land ; but he became accus- 
tomed to sail upon new and strange waters, and to see odd and 
unfamiliar sights. 

When Cabot read the story of Columbus's voyage, he remem- 



JOHN CABOT. 



153 



bered the caravans he had seen at Mecca. In his study of 
geography and the shape of the earth, he had come to the con- 
clusion that the farther north one went the smaller round the 
world was. He argued to himself that it would be a shorter 
distance in a straight western 
line from England to the land of 
silks and jewels than from Spain. 
England had been at a disadvan- 
tage in the trade with the East 
because, of all of the countries 
of Europe, it was the most dis- 
tant by the overland route. 
Now, thought Cabot, England is 
really the nearest to Japan and 
China. 

Cabot asked Henry VII. for 
permission to make such a west- 
ern voyage. King Henry granted 
his request, but, unlike Queen 
Isabella, gave no assistance, and, 
moreover, he required that Cabot 
should pay to him one-fifth of all 
the gold he obtained. It was 
not so difficult for Cabot to find 
sailors who were willing to go on 
a strange voyage as it had been 
for Columbus, for the news of the 
Columbus voyage had reached 
even the common seamen. 

Columbus had sailed with three vessels ; Cabot went with but 
one. This vessel, called the Matthew, was very small and carried 
a crew of eighteen men. The voyage began in May, and could 
not have been a difficult one, because land was discovered in 




THE CABOT 



MEMORIAL 
BRISTOL. 



TOWER AT 



154 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

June. This, the first land seen by Cabot, was called New-found- 
land, and is supposed to have been Cape Breton Island in the 
mouth of the St. Lawrence River. It was a small, uninhabited 
island, not the rich, populous country of Japan. Nevertheless it 
was land, and must, Cabot thought, be near to the countries 
which he sought. Planning to make another voyage the next 
year, Cabot returned to England. Here he was welcomed with 
open arms. He was called " the great admiral " ; wherever he went, 
crowds followed ; and the king made him a present of ten pounds. 

This reward would seem to be a very small gift from a king, 
but Henry VII. was not a rich man. Owen Tudor, his grand- 
father, a Welsh nobleman and soldier, had spent much of his 
fortune in fighting for the house of Lancaster. Henry Tudor, 
before he became king, was really a poor man. As king, he did 
not come into great wealth. Henry VI., his queen, and their 
followers had emptied the treasury in paying the armies with 
which they fought Richard and Edward of York. Richard III. 
used what money he could obtain in trying to keep the kingdom. 
Therefore, when the Wars of the Roses were over, the new king 
found himself much like his subjects. He was the head of a 
great and growing nation, but both he and his people were poor 
and must practice economy. 

Cabot made his second voyage the next year, but of what 
happened then almost nothing is known. Although so little can 
be told of Cabot's history, the results of his voyages have been of 
the greatest importance. The first voyage by which he discov- 
ered the North American mainland was made five years after the 
first voyage of Columbus, in the year 1497. This is the seventh 
great date in English history — the year of England's first step 
toward colonization. 

The voyages of John Cabot were of more value to England 
than her greatest victories at Crecy or Agincourt. Because 
Cabot touched the eastern coast of North America before any 



JOHN CABOT. 155 

other European, England laid claim to all this land, while Spain 
took possession of most of South America and the entire south- 
ern portion of North America. Because of John Cabot's dis- 
covery, Virginia and Plymouth were settled by Englishmen. 
Other English colonies followed, and to-day England's greatness 
is due, to a large extent, to her colonies of Canada, Australia, 
South Africa, and others of scarcely less importance. John 
Cabot led the way to English colonization. 

Give an account of the invention of printing; its introduction into 
England. 

Tell the story of the capture of Constantinople and the " Revival of 
Learning." 

Describe the travels of Marco Polo and the trade with the East; the 
trials and successes of Columbus. 

Tell the story of John Cabot : his early life, his studies, his voyages to 
America. 

What reasons did people have for thinking that the world was flat? 
Why were the European nations powerless against the Turks? How did 
printing aid discovery? If Columbus had not discovered America, do 
you suppose it would always have remained unknown? Who really did 
discover America, Columbus or Cabot? What are the first six great 
dates in English history? 

J£ft piefconp man (pmfutlmtempjrcl to bptony 
pjres tsttm ant> tty& tomtmotatfife o£ (aUfbuti ufe 
mp$ntfc after ttybnnt o£ tfy% ptrfet jtettteitfjufp 
fen^Iantitmlptomrt/latc^mcowttottitftmo; 
wGtoxnto tfc almomfrp^att^mapafcanDfjtfljal 
tyaweifcrngootit^ifc ^v 

[If it please any man, spiritual or temporal, to buy any pyes of two and three commemorations 
of Salisbury use emprynted after the form of this present letter, which be well and truly correct, 
let him come to Westminster into the Almonry at the red pale, and he shall have them good 
chepe.] 

caxton's ADVERTISEMENT. 




CHAPTER XVI. 



Cardinal Wolsey. 



1471-1530. 

The same year that saw the death of Henry VI. and the 
murder of Prince Edward of Lancaster, a son was born to Robert 
Wolsey, a well-to-do merchant of Ipswich. This boy showed 
himself bright and quick above the average, and his father deter- 
mined to fit him for the priesthood. Accordingly he was sent to 
college at the early age of eleven, and was graduated from Ox- 
ford with the degree of Bachelor of Arts at fifteen. 

The " young boy bachelor," as he was called, was in time 
appointed master of the grammar school connected with the col- 
lege. Among his pupils were the sons of the Marquis of Dorset, 
who was so well pleased with Wolsey that he made him rector 
of the church at Lymington. The next year he became chaplain 
to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and at his death was taken 
into the employ of the Governor of Calais, who recommended him 
to Henry VII. 

It happened that King Henry VII. was anxious to send a secret 



CARDINAL WOLSEY. 157 

message to the Emperor of Germany. One of his advisers recom- 
mended Wolsey as a bright and alert young man who would 
make a good messenger. Accordingly, Henry sent for him, gave 
the instructions, and told him to hasten. Wolsey allowed nothing 
to delay him. He set out at once from the court, reached London 
at four o'clock in the afternoon, traveled all night on horseback 
to Dover, crossed the Channel in the forenoon, and, hastening 
onward, reached the emperor that same night. Having obtained 
an immediate interview and received a reply, Wolsey was off 
again in time to catch the vessel that bore him across the Channel 
on its return trip. He reached Dover at ten o'clock and the 
court the same evening. He obtained a night's rest and presented 
himself to the king the next morning. Henry, thinking that 
Wolsey had not gone to Germany, began to reprove him. " May 
it please your Highness," replied Wolsey, " I have been to the 
emperor and executed my commission to the satisfaction, I trust, 
of your Grace." Kneeling, he presented the letters from Maxi- 
milian. Such was the beginning of Wolsey's political life. 

We cannot trace minutely the career of Thomas Wolsey during 
the next few years. He became a secretary of Fox, the Lord 
Privy Seal — that is, the official who had charge of the royal seal 
and who alone had the right to place the seal upon official 
papers. When Fox grew old, Wolsey succeeded him. For his 
services during a war with France and Scotland he was made 
Bishop of Tournay (Toor-na'), and the next year Bishop of Lin- 
coln. In a few months he was given the archbishopric of York 
also. 

Wolsey was thus placed in charge of three bishoprics, one of 
which was across the Channel, in France. No man could attend 
to the duties of these three offices at once, and, in fact, Wolsey 
did not attend to the duties of any one of them. He appointed 
others to act in his place, giving them a meager salary while he 
himself retained the enormous revenues. He became perhaps 



158 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

the richest man in England, and when Henry VIII. made him 
chancellor, he occupied a position equaled by no one since the 
time of Thomas a Becket. He had even more power than 
Becket, for the latter was simply Archbishop of Canterbury, while 
Wolsey in time became a cardinal. Just as an archbishop has con- 
trol of many bishops, so a cardinal has authority over archbishops. 

The luxury which surrounded Cardinal Wolsey had scarcely 
been exceeded by that of any Englishman before his time. When- 
ever he rode out, he was preceded by two of the tallest and come- 
liest priests he could find in the realm, " each bearing a great cross 
of silver." His guard was composed of the largest and finest- 
looking men in England, and his household servants were men 
of rank. He had a priest for his steward and a knight for his 
treasurer, and his cook "went daily in velvet and satin and a gold 
chain." His entertainments were in keeping with the rest of his 
magnificence. 

The royal feasts were not less gorgeous than those of the 
chancellor-cardinal; for when the king was host, Wolsey was the 
power behind the throne. The most luxurious and extravagant 
of all King Henry's displays was that at the Field of the Cloth of 
Gold. Such was the name given to the plain near Calais, where 
Henry VIII. held a love feast with King Francis I. of France. 
French artists and skilled workmen provided a tent for their king 
which was considered most wonderful in its beaut}'. It was of 
immense size, upheld by a large pole and covered with a cloth of 
gold lined with blue velvet, having the sun, the moon, and the 
stars worked in gold. The tent was held by cords of blue silk 
entwined with threads of gold and was surmounted by a golden 
figure of Saint Michael. Unfortunately a high wind destroyed 
the beautiful blue tent and compelled Francis to take shelter in 
the old castle of Ardres (Ard'r). 

No wind could destroy the residence built for the temporary 
use of the king of England. It was made of English timber, 



CARDINAL WOLSEY. 



159 



framed before being brought across the Channel. The outside 
was covered with canvas painted to resemble stone work ; within 
were halls and chambers and galleries, and even a royal chapel. 
In fact, the king and his household were in as comfortable quar- 
ters as if they had been at home. 

On the first day of the entertainment the two kings set out 




From the painting [>y Sir John Gilbert. 

CARDINAL WOLSEY AND HIS SUITE. 



on horseback, decked with all the silver and gold that could pos- 
sibly be used. When they met they dismounted, and entering 
a tent that had been especially prepared, enjoyed a sumptuous 
banquet. Thus the feast was opened, and for six days there fol- 
lowed a carnival of jousts, tilting, wrestling, and other athletic 
sports. On the last day of the feast each king visited the other's 
queen. King Henry, clothed like Hercules, in a lion's skin of 
cloth of gold, escorted his sister Mary, who was dressed in white 



l6o FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

and crimson satin. They were attended by a large retinue. When 
half way to the French encampment, they met a fantastic chariot 
containing King Francis and the other French maskers. They 
passed as if strangers. Henry, with his attendants, partook of 
supper with Queen Claude, while Francis sat down to table with 
Queen Katharine. When the parties met on their return, the 
kings stopped, embraced each other, gave and received presents, 
and bade farewell. Thus ended a " true midsummer night's 
dream." 

Such a carnival could not have been prepared by the English 
at any time previous to the reign of Henry VIII. Not only had 
wealth been lacking, but skill and intelligence as well. Surely it 
was a proof of growth among the English people. But how much 
they still had to learn ! Compare the Field of the Cloth of Gold 
with one of our modern expositions like the Pan-American Ex- 
position at Buffalo. The Field of the Cloth of Gold was of no 
permanent advantage to any one ; it only gratified a few people 
for a short time. The modern exposition of the manufactures 
and products of the world educates and helps all peoples. 

Like Becket, as chancellor, Cardinal Wolsey used all his power 
to promote the king's interests. Unlike Becket, as the high offi- 
cial of the Church in England, Wolsey still planned to carry out 
the king's wishes. His ambition was great. Born of humble 
parentage, he had risen step by step to be second only to the king 
in the government of England, and to the Pope in the control of 
the offices of the Church. He desired one thing more ; he strove 
to be Pope. But all his power, though due primarily to his own 
ability, was dependent upon the will of one man. If ever Car- 
dinal Wolsey lost the friendship of Henry VIII., he was ruined. 
This was ever likely to happen, and at the moment when Cardinal 
Wolsey had almost reached the highest point of his ambition, he 
fell, losing everything, even his life. The cause of the trouble 
was the king's marriaere. 



CARDINAL WOLSEY. 



161 



Years before, Henry VII. had betrothed his eldest son Arthur 
to Katharine, the Infanta of Spain. The young couple were 
married by proxy, and the girl wife made the perilous voyage to 
England to join her husband. When Henry heard of the arrival 
of the Spanish party, he set out with his son Arthur, but was met 
by messengers who told him that, in accordance with the Moorish 
etiquette which had been adopted by King Ferdinand of Spain, 
the Infanta must not be looked 
upon by any man, least of all by 
her husband or his father, until 
she appeared at the marriage 
altar. King Henry was much 
incensed at such a message. By 
the advice of his council, which 
met then and there in the pour- 
ing rain, Henry sent word, "As 
the Spanish Infanta is now in the 
heart of this realm of which I, 
King Henry, am master, I may 
look at her if I like." 

A brilliant wedding followed, 
but within six mouths Prince 
Arthur was dead and Katharine 
was a widow at sixteen, a stran- 
ger in a strange land. King Henry, however, was still anxious 
for the Spanish alliance, and compelled his only surviving son, 
Henry, to become betrothed to his brother's widow, who was 
four years his senior. This w r as contrary to the laws of the 
Church, but Pope Julian granted a special permission. Henry 
was in no haste to marry, and for several years poor Katharine 
continued in England, the widow of one Prince of Wales and the 
betrothed of another. 

When Henry VIII. came to the throne, he felt it necessary 
ii 




HENRY VIII. 



1 62 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 




From the painting by Harlow. 

THE TRIAL OF QUEEN KATHARINE. 



for the welfare of his kingdom to carry out his promise, so he 
married Katharine. For many years there was apparent happi- 
ness in the royal family. When, years afterward, Katharine was 
brought to trial, she flung herself at the king's feet, saying : 

" Sire, I beseech you to pity me, a woman and a stranger, 
without an assured friend and with an indifferent counselor. I 
take God to witness that I have always been to you a true and loyal 
wife, that I have made it my constant duty to seek your pleas- 
ure, that I have loved all whom you loved, whether I have reason 
or not, whether they were friends to me, or foes. If there be 
any offence that can be alleged against me I pray you do me 
justice." 



CARDINAL WOLSEY. 163 

The king in spite of himself was compelled to say : 

" She hath all the virtues and good qualities that belong to a 
woman of her dignity, or to any other of meaner estate. Surely 
she is a noble woman." 

Nevertheless, in spite of Henry's great respect for Katharine, 
he desired to marry another woman. Perhaps he had come to 
believe that he had no right to marry Katharine contrary to the 
rules of the Church, but had it not been for the beautiful face of 
Anne Boleyn (Bul'-en), one of the queen's maids of honor, it is 
doubtful if he would have sought a divorce from his wife. Such a 
divorce could be obtained only from the Pope. Unfortunately 
for Henry, the head of the Church did not dare to do anything 
that would displease the Spanish court ; still, he was unwilling to 
say no to the king of England. Doubtless, also, he was uncertain 
what he ought to do. Therefore he did nothing, but in every 
way caused delays to prevent a decision. At one time the ques- 
tion of the divorce was referred by the Pope to a commission of 
two, consisting of Cardinals Wolsey and Campeggio (Kam-ped'-jo). 
What was Wolsey to do ? He knew that if he decided for Katha- 
rine, he would lose all favor with the king. If he decided for 
the king, it would simply result in putting power into the hands 
of Anne Boleyn and her family, who w'ere already beginning to 
be his serious rivals. Whether he gave decision for or against 
Katharine, he would injure himself. He also delayed, and finally 
referred the matter back to the Pope. 

The king, angry at the delays of the Pope, was easily made 
to believe that Wolsey was opposed to the divorce. The next 
few steps, though of immense importance, were easily taken. 
Wolsey was deposed from his chancellorship and sent home to his 
archbishopric of York. Henry declared himself the true head 
of the Church, thereby refusing to acknowledge the supremacy of 
the Pope, and withdrawing his people from the Roman Catholic 
Church. Wolsey, charged with being a traitor, would doubtless 



164 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

have been executed, had not overwork and anxiety so weakened 
him as to cause his death. Just before he died, Wolsey said : 

" If I had served God as diligently as I have the king, He 
would not have given me over in my gray hairs. Howbeit, this 
is the just reward that I must receive for my worldly diligence 
and pains that I had to do him service, only to satisfy his vain 
pleasures, not regarding my godly duty." 

As supreme head of the Church, Henry granted the divorce 
desired by himself as king of England. He persuaded Parliament 
to pass the necessary acts forbidding any obedience to the Pope 
and ordering that all should take oath acknowledging the spirit- 
ual power of the king. In this peculiar way England ceased to 
be Catholic and began its career as a Protestant nation. It should 
be remembered, however, that many of the people of England had 
already become Protestants in their beliefs, and they welcomed 
the action of the king. 

Let us pass over as briefly as possible the period of religious 
changes which followed the fall of Wolsey. But let us remem- 
ber that the Catholics believed that they were right and that all 
who disagreed with them were wrong, and that the Protestants 
were equally sure of the truth of their position. 

Henry VIII. lived several years after the death of Wolsey. 
When he died, he was succeeded by his ten-year-old son Edward 
VI. During his six years' reign the government was wholly in 
the hands of his guardian, who was one of the most zealous of 
Protestants. Edward was succeeded by his sister Mary, the only 
daughter of Katharine of Spain. Mary was naturally a Catholic, 
and for the five years of her reign she made reconciliation with the 
Pope, and spent her time in persecuting the Protestants. After 
her death, Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn, and the 
only surviving child of Henry VIII., became queen. For forty- 
five years she reigned, and during the whole time she was truly 
queen. Taking warning from the mistakes of her brother's 



CARDINAL WOLSEY. 



I6 5 



advisers, she made very gradual changes from the Catholicism of 
Mary to the Protestantism which has, since her reign, controlled 
England. Her reign was one of the most important in England, 
and it will be treated in the two following chapters. 

Tell the story of the early life of Thomas Wolsey ; how he won the 
attention of the king ; how he advanced from one office to another ; his 
luxurious life. 

Give an account of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. 

Contrast the characters of Becket and Wolsey. 

Tell the story of Queen Katharine : as princess ; as the wife of Henry ; 
of the divorce. 

Describe Wolsey's position ; his fall ; his death. 

Why did Wolsey succeed? Is it possible for wealthy or prominent 
men to look after all the details of their office? Of what must they have 
a care? Is it right for a man to receive returns for work which he does 
not do? What use is there in such exhibitions as the Field of the Cloth of 
Cold? Is anybody helped by them? In what respects were the careers of 
Becket and Wolsey similar? Who was hurt most by all the delays of Pope 
and cardinal? What was Henry's chief characteristic? 




KNIGHTS IN TOURNEY, 




CHAPTER XVII. 

Francis Drake. 

1540(?)-1596. 

FRANCIS DRAKE, like Thomas Wolsey, did not belong to a 
noble family; li is parents were people of moderate means liv- 
ing in the county of Devon. Francis was born during the latter 
part of the reign of Henry VIII., and the boy was still playing 
about his father's house when that king died. Meanwhile the 
family had moved to Kent, and when six years later Queen Mary 
succeeded her brother Edward, the youth of thirteen was run- 
ning about the docks. When Mary in turn was succeeded by her 
sister Elizabeth, Drake, a full-grown man, was making voyages 
between the ports of the English Channel. A few years later the 
owner of the vessel in which he sailed died, leaving it to Drake 
in his will. For several years he continued his coasting trade, but 
hearing of an expedition that was about to set out under the 
command of his cousin. Sir John Hawkins, Drake sold his vessel, 
bought a faster one called the Judith, and proceeded to Plymouth 
to join his cousin. 



FRANCIS DRAKE. 167 

Sir John Hawkins was at this time the best known and the 
most popular seaman in England. He was also well known in 
Spain, intensely hated, and greatly feared. He had made several 
trips to the African coast, obtained cargoes of negroes, and sold 
them as slaves in the Spanish West Indies, which was contrary to 
Spanish laws and was considered the worst form of smuggling. 

The fleet in this new expedition of Hawkins consisted of five 
vessels, including the Judith. Sir John was in command of the 
Jesus. From the first the voyage was unpropitious. A vio- 
lent storm severely injured the vessels, but they succeeded in 
reaching the Canaries, where the necessary repairs were made. 
The negroes were obtained with little difficulty and sold in the 
West Indies with great profit ; but hardly had Hawkins turned 
homeward when the fleet was struck by a West India hurricane 
and driven into the Gulf of Mexico. Reaching the harbor of San 
Juan de Ulloa (San Hdb-an' da 6bl-yo'-a), a Spanish port not far 
from Vera Cruz (Vara Krobs), Hawkins was repairing his vessels 
when a Spanish admiral, who had been sent out to seek for him, 
appeared with a fleet of thirteen heavily armed vessels. What 
could the English seaman do? He sent a message to the admiral 
stating that he was an Englishman, that he was in possession of 
the port, and that he could not admit a Spanish fleet until he had 
been assured that no injury would be done him. As a storm was 
brewing, the Spaniard found himself compelled to make the re- 
quired promise. He was permitted to enter and moor his vessels 
at the opposite end of the harbor. 

One can imagine the anger of the Spanish admiral when he 
learned that the Englishman was the very man he was seeking. 
The Spaniard considered Hawkins a pirate, and doubtless he felt 
that he need not keep his word with a pirate ; at any rate, he did 
not keep his promise, for he suddenly attacked the English 
fleet. The Jesus and two other vessels were destroyed. The 
Judith and a fifth vessel called the Minion succeeded in getting 



i6S 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



out of the harbor; Hawkins with a remnant of his crew leaped 
into a rowboat and managed to reach the Minion. They were 
thus compelled to sail for England with vessels unrepaired and 
with none of the wealth which they had acquired from the expe- 
dition. After many hardships the two vessels succeeded in reach- 
ing Plymouth, though not together. 

Drake had had his first long voyage. He had made one 
slave-trading expedition, and one was sufficient; he never made 




Mil HOME OF S1K FRANCIS DRAKE. 



another. He had met the Spaniards and, as he thought, had 
found them treacherous and bloodthirsty. They had captured 
his hard-earned profits, and he had returned a ruined man. From 
this time forth he considered that he had the right to take any 
Spanish property he could find, at least until he made up his own 
loss. Four years he waited, restoring his fortunes and recovering 
from his great disaster, and then he set out on a secret expedi- 
tion. 



FRANCIS DRAKE. 169 

He had learned that immense treasures of gold and silver for 
the Spanish government were carried from the mines of Peru by 
water to Panama, thence across the isthmus on the backs of 
mules, and then put on vessels to cross the Atlantic. He deter- 
mined to capture this treasure as it crossed the isthmus. Station- 
ing himself in ambush by the side of the trail, he awaited the 
coming of the mule train. When the tinkling of the mules' bells 
were heard, his band stepped out across the path ; the guards im- 
mediately fled and the booty fell without bloodshed into Drake's 
hands. The silver was buried, but the gold, rubies, and diamonds 
were carried to the ship, which made a prosperous voyage back 
to England. The adventurers shared the spoils and then held 
their tongues. 

Drake was ready now for a larger undertaking. With two 
vessels, the Pelican and the Elizabeth, he sailed for the Pacific 
Ocean, where no English ship had ever been. Three weeks were 
required to pass through the Straits of Magellan, a distance of 
seventy miles, and when Drake reached the Pacific, he found the 
stormiest waters that he had seen. A gale drove the ships around 
the Horn, and for the first time it was known that Tierra del 
Fuego (Te-er'-ra del Fwa'-go) did not reach to the South Pole, 
and that it was not necessary to use the Straits of Magellan to 
go from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Captain Winter, of the 
Elizabeth, had seen all the storms he wished, and, without saying 
a word to Drake, he sailed for England. 

Drake continued his voyage and finally reached the harbor 
of Valparaiso (Val-pa-rl'-so), where he captured a Spanish vessel 
carrying four hundred pounds of gold. Thence he sailed north 
along the coast, capturing several vessels, and taking vast quan- 
tities of silver, gold, and jewels. At last, thinking that he had 
accomplished enough for one voyage, he decided to take his 
course for home. Turning the prow of his vessel northward, he 
skirted the coast of North America until he entered the harbor 



I/O FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

of San Francisco. Continuing north, he searched the coasts of 
California and Oregon for the western end of a northerly passage 
through the continent ; but the weather grew so cold that he con- 
cluded that, if he found the passage which he supposed must 
surely exist, it would be impassable because of ice. He retraced 
his course, and reentered the harbor of San Francisco, where he 
spent the winter. In the spring he crossed the Pacific, passed 
around the Cape of Good Hope, continued along the western 
coast of Africa and Europe, and, having met with no Spanish 
vessel, entered the harbor of Plymouth, England. 

1 1 is arrival was none too welcome to the councilors of Queen 
Elizabeth. They were afraid that this roving seaman, who, in a 
time of nominal peace, had done so much to injure Spanish trade, 
might yet bring on war. Nevertheless, Queen Elizabeth believed 
in Drake, and she considered that whoever injured a Spaniard 
did her a service. She honored the successful sailor by being 
present at a banquet given on board his vessel, and by making 
him a knight. Elizabeth gave orders that this vessel, which had 
made such a wonderful voyage, should be carefully preserved. A 
century afterwards, when the timbers had become so decayed 
that they would not hold together, a chair was made from the 
best preserved wood, and it is now kept at Oxford as a great his- 
torical relic. 

Sir Francis Drake, not content with depriving Spain of its 
wealth, next determined to attack the Spanish colonies. He 
made another expedition, in which he captured and held for ran- 
som three of the most important cities of the West Indies. On 
his return he stopped at Roanoke Island in South Carolina, and 
carried home the surviving members of Raleigh's ill-fated colony. 

If Malek Rik was a name that caused terror among the 
Saracens, and the Black Prince among the French, that of Sir 
Francis Drake was the source of even more consternation in 
Spain. A Spanish poet wrote an epic entitled " The Dragontea," 



FRANCIS DRAKE. 



171 



in which the exploits of Sir Francis Drake are described as acts 
of the utmost wickedness ; for in the eyes of the Spaniards Drake 
was a dragon, capable of the most terrible things. He caused 
such fear that on one occasion the admiral commanding the 
most powerful vessel of the Spanish fleet, learning that the 
little ship opposed to him was commanded by Drake, turned 
and fled, fearing, notwithstand- 
ing the great odds in his favor, 
to attack such a monster. 

After many years of profes- 
sions of peace and good-will, 
Philip II., king of Spain, began 
preparations to destroy the Eng- 
lish navy, — commanded by such 
men as Hawkins and Drake, — 
to conquer England itself, and 
to bring the English people back 
into the Catholic Church. Drake 
learned that a part of the Span- 
ish fleet was being prepared at 
Cadiz (Ka'-diz). He suddenly 
appeared in the harbor with a 
few vessels, and within sight of 
the people of the town burned and destroyed most of the Span- 
ish fleet. Drake " singed the king's beard," as he said, and Philip 
had to give up his plans until the next year. 

At last the immense Armada (Ar-ma'-da) set sail from the 
Spanish ports. Drake's exploit at Cadiz had given the English 
another year of preparation, and the British fleet and armies were 
waiting for the invader. Yet the Spaniards came upon them un- 
expectedly. Drake and the other commanders were playing 
bowls after dinner, when one of the captains rushed in with the 
news that the enemy was in sight. All, panic-stricken, turned 




QUEEN ELIZABETH. 



1/2 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

to Drake, but he coolly went on with the game, saying, " There's 
time for that, and to beat the Spaniards after." Beacon fires 
were lighted on the hills, and before morning all England knew 
that the crisis had come. 

" Such night in England ne'er had been, 

Nor e'er again shall be. 
From Eddystone to Berwick bounds, 

From Lynn to Milford Bay, 
The time of slumber was as bright 

And busy as the day ; 
For swift to east anil swift to west 

The ghastly war- flame spread, 
1 [igh cm St. Michael's Mount it shone ; 

It shone on Beachy Head. 
Far on the deep the Spaniards saw, 

Along each southern shire, 
Cape beyond cape in endless range, 

Those twinkling points of fire." 

The English fleet, under the command of Admiral Lord 
Howard, with Sir Francis Drake as vice-admiral, hung about the 
Spanish line like angry bees. The enemy's vessels were large 
and slow ; the English were small, but quick-sailing. If a ship 
lagged behind the line, it was immediately surrounded and sunk. 
So many were thus lost that the Spanish commander turned his 
fleet into the harbor of Calais, and there the English sent in fire 
ships, which burned many of the remaining vessels. Fearful of 
losing the entire fleet, the Spanish admiral sailed away to the 
north, closely followed by Drake and his brave Englishmen. 

Queen Elizabeth was much like her grandfather, Henry VII.; 
she was unwilling to spend even necessary money. The English 
fleet was not properly fitted out with either provisions or ammu- 
nition, so it could follow the enemy but a short distance. The 



FRANCIS DRAKE. 



173 



Spaniards, not daring to turn about, attempted to sail around the 
islands. Storms rose, and vessel after vessel was wrecked upon 
the rocky coasts of Scotland and Ireland ; and only a small frag- 
ment of the great Armada reached Spain. The Spanish supremacy 
of the seas was lost forever. 




THE FIGHT AGAINST THIS SPANISH ARMADA. 

Drake made two more expeditions against the Spanish ports, 
but disagreements among the commanders caused the failure of 
each. Disappointment, together with the hardships which he 
had undergone, brought about the death of the admiral when 
he was but fifty years of age. 



174 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



What shall we think of a man like Sir Francis Drake? To-day 
we would call him a pirate, capturing vessels without right. If 
war had existed, such captures would have been perfectly proper ; 
but when Francis Drake seized Spanish vessels in the Pacific 
Ocean, England and Spain claimed to be at peace, though each 
desired to begin war as soon as it dared, and each was more than 
ready to injure the other in every possible way. Doubtless 
Drake felt that he was working for his queen as well as for his 
own advantage. Let us not judge too severely those who lived 
in a different age from our own. Drake was a skillful sailor, and to 
him, more than to any other, England owed her protection from the 
terrors which would have ensued had the Armada been successful. 



Tell the story of Drake's early life ; his first long vogage. 
Give an account of the storm and the battle in the Gulf of Mexico. 
Describe Drake's next long voyage ; his adventures in the Pacific ; his 
return home. 

Tell the story of the defeat of the Spanish Armada. 

Why were slaves needed in the West Indies? Should a promise be 
always kept? Why was one slave-trading expedition enough for Drake ? 
Why did Drake bury the silver at Panama? What is the meaning of the 
word "Pacific "? What advantage was there in knowing that it was not 
necessary to use the Straits of Magellan to reach the Pacific? Who made 
the first voyage around the world? What gave Drake his great success in 
his dealings with the Spaniards? What is the meaning of the word "Ar- 
mada"? 




QUEEN ELIZABETH S AUTOGRAPH. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 



William Shakespeare. 

1564-1616. 

Early in Elizabeth's reign a baby boy was born in the village 
of Stratford, in the center of England. The day we do not know, 
but the parish register gives April 26, 15-64, as the day of his 
christening. Strangely, very little has been learned about his 
life as a country boy or as a city man. But what he wrote all can 
read, and scholars from his day to this have admired the genius of 
the man who could write so much and portray so truthfully the 
thought and the life of all kinds of men. 

Stratford was a quaint town on the old Roman highway from 
London. Here the road crossed the Avon and gave a name to 
the place, Street-ford. When Shakespeare was a boy, the houses 
in the village were mostly of two stories, built of wood and 
plaster, with steep thatched roofs. Shakespeare's house had the 
unusual feature of a chimney, which was probably much envied 



176 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



by some and laughed at by others. These new chimneys, though 
they often smoked, were a great improvement over the former 
fireplaces under holes in the center of the roofs. The open fires 
filled the rooms with smoke, and required constant care lest the 
snapping sparks should kindle the rushes on the floors. General 
fires were frequent, and every family was obliged, at night, to 
cover with ashes each bright coal, draw the shutters over the 
opening in the roof, put out the lights, and go to bed when the 




THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL AT STRATFORD. 



curfew bell rang. In time every householder was compelled by 
law to build a chimney, which caused some grumbling; " For," 
said one writer of the sixteenth century, " as the smoke was sup- 
posed to be a sufficient hardening for the timber of the house, so it 
was reported to be a far better medicine to keep the goodman and 
his family from the quake or pose," which means from throat 
and head colds. 

Children had no picture books in Shakespeare's time, but 



WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. I 77 

they had many fairy tales, stories of marvelous feats in battle, 
and legends that had come down through many generations. 
We can imagine how, 

"Then done the tales, to bed they creep," 

listening for the coming of the goblins, if they had been naughty, 
or for the voices of the fairies that every child, and grown folks, 
too, firmly believed to exist. 

Beds, in the country houses, had grown more comfortable 
than they had previously been. William Harrison, who lived in 
the latter part of the sixteenth century, wrote : " Our fathers and 
ourselves have lien full oft upon straw pallets covered only with a 
sheet, . . . and a good round log under their heads instead 
of a bolster. If it were that our fathers or the goodman of the 
house had a mattress or a flock-bed, and thereto a sack of chaff 
to rest his head upon, he thought himself to be as well lodged as 
the lord of the town, so well were they contented." Now bed- 
steads were taking the place of the floor, feather-beds were used 
instead of pallets, and pillows instead of blocks of wood. The 
well and strong enjoyed comforts before thought almost too great 
luxuries even for sick women. 

When he was seven years old, William was sent to the gram- 
mar school at Stratford. These schools were open not only to 
children of wealthy parents, as in later days, but to every one. 
The principal study was Latin, but first each child must learn 
his letters, and the master " teaches boys the horn book." A 
horn book was a single sheet of paper on which was printed the 
alphabet in large and small letters, some combinations of vowels 
and consonants, such as ab, ba, ad, da, and the Lord's Prayer. 
This was framed and covered with a thin sheet of horn, "to save 
from fingers wet the letters fair." The alphabet learned, Latin 
was begun, and children were taught not only the grammar and 
translation, but to write and talk in Latin. 



1/8 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

In "The Merry Wives of Windsor" Shakespeare tells a 
story of a schoolboy. He was walking with his mother when 
they met Sir Hugh Evans, the schoolmaster. Their conversa- 
tion was as follows : 

Mrs. Pack. How now, Sir Hugh? no school to-day ? 
Evans. No ; Master Slender is get the boys leave to play. 

Mrs. P. Sir Hugh, my husband says my son profits nothing in the 
world at his books: I pray you ask him some questions in his acci- 
dence. 

Evans. Come hither, William ; hold up your head ; come. 

Mrs. P. Come on, sirrah ; hold up your head ; answer your master, 
be not afraid. 

Evans. William, how many numbers is in nouns ? 

William. Two. 



Evans. What is fair, William ? 
William. Pulcher. 



Y.\ \ns. What is lapis, William ? 

William. A stone. 

Evans. And what is a stone, William ? 

William. A pebble. 

K\ \\s. No, it is lapis; I pray you remember in your prain. 

William. Lapis. 

Evans. That is good. . . . Show me now, William, some 
declensions of your pronouns. 

William. Forsooth, I have forgot. 

Evans. It is qui, qua, quod; if you forget your quis, your quces, and 
your quods, you must be preeches. Co your ways, and play; go. 

Mrs. P. He is a better scholar than I thought he was. 

Evans. He is a good sprag memory. Farewell, Mistress Page. 



WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. 



179 



Boys liked to play then as well as they do now. Even 

" The whining schoolboy, with his satchel 
And shining morning face, creeping like snail, 
Unwillingly to school," 

could run and jump fast enough when the lessons were recited. 
The games we play now are very old. Our fathers played 
blindman's buff, hide-and-seek, and pri- 
son-bars ; so did their fathers and their 
fathers' fathers, and so did the children 
four hundred years ago. Boys hunted 
and fished, played football and cricket, 
and had many other sports, some of which 
are now considered rough and cruel. 

All looked forward eagerly to the 
many holidays and feast-days, when even 
men and women romped and played like 
children. The chief of these days was 
St. George's Day. St. George, so the 
legend says, was a great warrior who went 
to the Holy Land to fight the Saracens; 
somehow he wandered into Egypt, where 
he saw a huge dragon whose breath was 
so poisonous that it had destroyed many 
cities. No warrior could be found brave 

enough to attack this hideous creature, even if his sword had 
been strong enough to pierce its scales. Therefore, to keep it 
from doing any further mischief, a beautiful maiden was placed 
before its cavern every day. George not only rescued the 
princess who was the dragon's breakfast for that day, but slew 
the monster and escaped unharmed to England. These improb- 
able adventures made him the popular English saint and the 
hero of soldiers. 



^euef^f|i)klTnno])v 
cirstuDtut^Vaeiou* 

tjjearen lj&iUn>« k ttyftsrv 
3>livj^ii)ii<io^? tow* 0)g| 

ll'Kratifl) *>v:e iiH t1)l$<i.«i 
QfiriailBI brf .3(5 &»i fot« 
pG us our trcOaffCias 
d'C foraiw 1 tlicm that trtsiHKr 

wTa ttraptatio'i? ifM&litcms 
fr«y.l. $rm& 



A HORN BOOK. 



l8o FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Great celebrations were held on his feast-day. Through the 
gayly decorated town a procession passed amid ringing bells 
and blowing trumpets. The schoolboys in their caps and 
gowns, and the officers and great men of the parish preceded 
the figure of St. George dressed in flashing armor, who was fol- 
lowed by a hissing and writhing representation of the dragon 
" led in chains with the spear of St. George down his throat." 
And the people shouted, "Saint George for England! Saint 
George for England ! " 

Another delightful holiday was May Day. Old and young 
went to the woods, gathered trees and branches, and selected 
a Maypole. Yokes of oxen, freshly cleaned and decorated with 
flowers, dragged the pole to the village green, where it was set 
up amid dancing and shouting. One of the village beauties was 
chosen Queen of the May, who, before the day was done, 

" Calls the youngsters one by one, 

And for their well performance, soon dispenses 

To this a garland intwined with roses ; 

To that a carved hook or well wrought script; 

(iracing another with her cherry lip; 

To one her garter ; to another then 

A handkerchief cast o'er and o'er again ; 

And none returneth empty that hath spent, 

His pains to fill their rural merriment." 

But times had changed in the cottage at Stratford. Merri- 
ment and joy had almost ceased. William's father, who had 
been a prosperous merchant, had become poor. The boy had 
grown to be a man with ambitions not to be satisfied by a little 
country town, and one morning he started on horseback, like 
many another, to seek fame and fortune in London. 

London was thought by Englishmen to be a magnificent 
city, though foreigners thought otherwise. The streets were 



WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. 



181 



still narrow, though a little cleaner, perhaps, than in Wat 
Tyler's time; for they were brushed up whenever a procession 
was to pass, and public opinion had advanced far enough to 
banish rubbish heaps, at least to the back yard. It had one 
beautiful highway, the river Thames. All the streets grew bet- 
ter as the years went by, but the Thames grew worse, as it 
became more and more crowded with shipping. In the earlier 
days gardens and green banks came down to the water's edge, 




THE BIRTHPLACE OF SHAKESPEARE. 



swans swam gracefully by, and thousands of gayly decorated 
boats glided on its blue surface, the boatmen calling, " West- 
ward hoe! " or " Eastward hoe! " to the passing craft. 

London houses were vastly improved. The old gloomy cas- 
tles and strongholds were passing away, and in their places 
appeared buildings more like homes than forts. Innumerable 
windows lighted up the rooms, and these windows had glass for 
panes; yet there were grumblers who found fault with this inno- 
vation, for no new thing is thankfully received by all. Even 



1 82 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

the learned Francis Bacon, the wisest man of his age, said, 
" You shall have sometime your houses so full of glass, that 
we cannot tell where to come to be out of the sun or the 
cold." 

Within, carpets had taken the place of the filthy rushes on 
the floors. No longer was it necessary to burn herbs and spices 
to cover the odors. Cloth of gold and richly embroidered silks 
hung upon the walls; elaborately carved chairs and cabinets 
stood about the room ; and napkins and costly dishes were used 
at the tables. Table knives were to be had, but forks were not. 
Elizabeth is known to have had a fork, but probably she did not 
use it. In fact, forks did not come into common use until the 
middle of the seventeenth century, and when they were intro- 
duced a clergyman preached against them, on the ground that it 
was " an insult to Providence not to touch one's meat with one's 
fingers." Quite early in the seventeenth century a man named 
Thomas Coryate wrote a book describing his travels in Europe, 
and among the many strange things he saw were forks. He 
says : 

" I obserued a custome in all those Italian Cities and Townes 
through which I passed that is not vsed in any other country 
that I saw in my trauels, neither doe I thinke that any other 
nation of Christiendome doth vse it, but only Italy. The Ital- 
ians doe alwaies at their meales vse a little forke when they cut 
their meate. For while with their knife which they hold in 
one hand they cut the meate out of the dish, they fasten their 
forke which they hold in their other hand vpon the same dish, 
so that whatsoeuer he be that sitting in the company of any 
others at meate, should vnaduisedly touch the dish of meate 
with his fingers from which all at the table doe cut, he will giue 
occasion of offence vnto the company, as hauing transgressed 
the lawes of good manners. The reason of this their curiosity 
is, because the Italians cannot by any means endure to haue the 



WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. 



I8 3 



dish touched with fingers seeing all men's fingers are not alike 
cleane." 

Elizabeth's reign was a prosperous period. She knew that 
peace was better for the whole nation than war, and when urged 
by her councilors to help this or that cause, she would bring 
her fist down on the table crying, "No war, my lords, no war." 
Consequently commerce grew, and the people increased their 
wealth. Their prosperity 
was shown not only in more 
comfortable houses, but in 
their dress. Elizabeth set 
the example, with her three 
thousand dresses decorated 
with pearls and lace. The 
men dressed as gorgeously 
as the women, and wore 
their silks and velvets on 
the streets, much to the 
amazement of foreigners, 
who considered that velvets 
should be reserved for in- 
door use. So much money 
was spent, that it was " a 
small matter to bestow . 
fifty pounds, yea one hundred pounds for one pair of breeches." 

The streets of London swarmed with people whose dress 
almost rivaled tropical birds in variety of colors. All the adven- 
turers, all the explorers were there, all the handsome noblemen, 
all those who could write or hoped to write. Each one ex- 
pected to win the attention and favor of the Virgin Queen ; for 
did not Elizabeth admire all brave deeds, all handsome men, 
all pretty verses ? 

Perhaps this friendly and encouraging disposition of the 




THE GLOBE THEATER. 



ten pounds, twenty pounds, 



1 84 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

queen induced Shakespeare to come to London. Without 
doubt he had seen Elizabeth, for near Stratford was Kenilworth 
Castle, where she had been entertained for three weeks with 
extravagant ceremonies, in which even the country people had 
their part. Tradition says that Shakespeare began his London 
life by holding the horses of those who attended the theater at 
Smithfield, just without the city. Whether this is so or not, only 
a few years passed before he was owner, actor, and playwright, 
a " Johannes Factotum " or Jack-at-all-trades, as he was called, 
in one of the theaters. 

No theater was allowed in London, partly because plays were 
looked upon by many as questionable amusements, and because 
they collected a disorderly crowd. Consequently, they were 
built across the Thames ; and whenever a performance was 
to be given, a flag was raised where it could be seen in the city. 
The hour was three o'clock, and admission was a penny in 
the cheaper theaters, and sixpence in the better class, like the 
Globe Theater, where Shakespeare's plays were performed. 
This fee would admit only to the pit, which had no seats and 
no covering. Boxes were provided in some theaters for those 
who wanted seats; in others the most fashionable places were 
on the stage itself, where the young noblemen would spread 
their cloaks, having paid a good round sum for the privilege. 
They conversed with one another during the performance, and 
their servants passed around pipes and drinks. The people in 
the pit ate fruits and sausages, drank ale and smoked, for they 
had come early in order to get the best standing room. 

The stage had a covering, but no scenery. A placard on 
the wall told where the scene was laid, whether in Europe or 
Asia, London, Paris, or Venice. If the play was a tragedy, the 
stage was hung with black ; if a comedy, with blue, " while 
armies entered triumphant, or were driven off in defeat through 
one door," at the back of the stage. A motion like picking 



WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. 



185 



flowers made a garden, and black hangings made night. The 
costumes, however, were appropriate and often expensive, and 
whatever the settings lacked was supplied by the imaginations of 
the audience. They thoroughly enjoyed it all, heartily expressed 
their approval, and as vigorously showed dissatisfaction. 




HIE THEATER IN SHAKESPEARE S TIME. 



The queen never attended these public theaters, but some- 
times in the evening a successful play was repeated at the pal- 
ace before the court. For this the actors were paid about ten 
pounds, the same as the usual receipt for an afternoon perform- 
ance. An actor could hardly grow rich very fast, although a 
pound went much farther then than it does now. But Jack-at- 



1 86 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

all-trades though he was, Shakespeare gathered enough prop- 
erty together to go back to Stratford, where he bought the best 
house in town and lived quietly until he died. He had taught 
the people much. By his historical plays he had shown them 
the glories and the mistakes of the past; they knew the history 
of England as they had never known it before. He had also 
shown them themselves; the courtier and the fool, the high and 
the base, the nobleman and the scoundrel, were faithfully por- 
trayed. He did it kindly, and none could take offense. 

Describe the village of Stratford, the houses, the furniture, the 

schools. 

Tell the story of Saint George ; of May Day. 

Give an account of Shakespeare's life in London; what he saw; 
what he did. 

Describe the plays and the theaters. 

What is the meaning of curfew ? Why has this custom recently 
been revived in many cities and towns ? What do you think of the 
education of children in the sixteenth century as compared with the 
education of children to-day? Why is it that all inventions are opposed? 
Can you give some recent examples? How is the financial condition of 
a country shown by the dress and life of the people ? How did Eliza- 
beth show herself a wiser monarch than Edward III. or Henry V. ? 




From a book of 1659. 

BOYS' SPORTS. 




CHAPTER XIX. 



John Hampden. 

1594-1643. 

Queen Elizabeth, after a long reign of forty-five years, 
died at the age of seventy. For many weeks she had been ill, 
and all England was anxiously waiting the end. Scarcely had 
the queen ceased to breathe when Lady Scope, one of the 
ladies-in-waiting, dropped a sapphire ring from a window, 
beneath which stood Sir Robert Carey with horse saddled. 
Picking up the ring, Carey galloped northward, and by using the 
relay of horses that he had arranged to be stationed at various 
points along the road, he reached Edinburgh after a continuous 
ride of three days and two nights. At one time he was thrown 
from his horse and seriously injured, but this accident did not 
stop him. The king of Scotland had just retired for the night 
when the messenger was admitted to his bedchamber. With 
face covered with blood and dirt, Carey knelt and saluted him 
as King of Scotland, England, France, and Wales. 



I 88 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

The name of this king was James Stuart. He was the sixth 
James of Scotland, but the first James on the throne of Eng- 
land. The grandfather of the first James Stuart was Walter 
the Steward, who married the daughter of Robert Bruce. His 
son Robert inherited the throne of Scotland. What right had 
this Scotch family of Stuarts to the throne of England ? As 
Elizabeth Tudor died unmarried and left no brothers or sisters, 
the throne of England must pass to the descendants of her 
father's oldest sister, since he had no brother. This sister 
married the fourth James Stuart, and so the succession passed 
through her to her great-grandson, James VI. of Scotland, who 
became also James I. of England in 1603. This is the eighth 
great date of English history — the union of England and Scot- 
land under one ruler. 

Within a few days King James received official news of the 
death of the queen and an invitation from Parliament to come 
to England. He had been proclaimed king in London the 
morning after the queen's death, and there was nothing for him 
to do but take possession. James left the people of Edinburgh 
in tears. When he crossed the border, he was saluted by the 
thundering of cannon from the fortress of Berwick-upon-Tweed. 
All along the route he was given the heartiest of welcomes; 
and the country gentlemen vied with one another to do him 
honor. Not the least notable of the receptions given him was 
that of Sir Oliver Cromwell, and it may be that James saw 
here two little boys, John Hampden and Oliver Cromwell, 
who in later years were the strongest opponents of the house 
of Stuart. 

Thus cordially was the new king received by the people of 
England. Though they disliked the Scotchman, they remem- 
bered the English blood that flowed in his veins. Though few 
believed in the Scottish form of Protestantism and the state 
church of that country, yet King James was dear to the people 



JOHN HAMPDEN. 



189 



of England as a stanch opponent of the Catholics. They were 
also glad, after two queens, to welcome a king to the throne. 
Within fifty years, however, the nation was plunged into a ter- 
rible civil war, and the son of this very James was beheaded by 
order of the government of the country. It seems almost im- 
possible that any act of James and his son Charles could have 
produced such a change of feeling. 

Both of these Stuart kings believed in the " divine right of 
kings"; that is, they claimed 
that they were appointed by 
God, and that whatever they 
did was right. " The king can 
do no wrong " was one of their 
mottoes. In some countries 
this presumption would not be 
questioned, but the English 
people were growing more and 
more to think for themselves 
in political and religious affairs. 
If James and Charles had learned 
anything from the English his- 
tory of the past, they would 
have known that the common 
people of the seventeenth cen- 
tury would be even less willing 
to endure the tyranny of kings than their ancestors had been 
four hundred years before. They forgot the story of John and 
Magna Carta; they forgot Simon de Montfort and the first Par- 
liament; they had learned nothing from Edward I., who obtained 
all the money he wanted by yielding to the wishes of Parliament. 
These Stuart kings, when they wished for money and Parlia- 
ment refused to give it, dismissed Parliament and attempted to 
raise money without its help. This was not according to Eng- 




JAMES 1. 



I9O FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

lish ideas of right. The story of John Hampden will show how 
all these difficulties resulted in civil war. 

John Hampden was born in Buckinghamshire a few years 
before the close of the sixteenth century. He was not one 
of the nobility, for neither he nor any of his ancestors had 
been lords or even knights; but he belonged to a family that 
was prominent in England even before the Conquest. It was 
a Hampden who was adviser of Edward the Confessor; it was 
a Hampden who played tennis with Edward the Black Prince 
and fought at Crecy and Poitiers; it was a Hampden who, 
while sheriff of his county, entertained Queen Elizabeth at 
his own home with almost royal hospitality. Griffith Hamp- 
den, the son of this sheriff, married Elizabeth Cromwell, and 
John Hampden was their oldest son. 

John was but an infant when, by the death of his father, he 
became the owner of the immense estates of his family. He 
was educated at the University of Oxford, and studied law at 
the Inner Temple in London ; he then retired to his estates and 
married the lady of his choice. He cared nothing for the pleas- 
ures of the king's court or of city life, but devoted himself to 
his books until the time came when his country had need of him. 

John Hampden was hardly of age when his mother, proud 
of her son and ambitious for his advancement, urged him to 
seek from the "king the rank of nobility. ' If ever my son will 
seek for his honor," she wrote, " let him come now, for here is 
multitudes of lords amaking. " It was true that at the court of 
the first Stuart king titles could be obtained by almost anyone, 
but neither lordships nor baronetcies could be obtained without 
money; and Hampden, unwilling to pay for such empty honors, 
refused to take any steps towards acquiring a title. 

Near the end of his reign King James summoned a Parlia- 
ment, and Hampden took a seat in the House of Commons 
as the representative of the borough of Grampound. Here he 



JOHN HAMPDEN. I9I 

became associated with some of the future leaders of his people, 
John Pym, Oliver St. John, and Sir John Eliot. He was not 
a frequent speaker, but spent his time studying the conditions 
and needs of the country. 

After a reign of twenty-two years King James died, and 
Charles I. succeeded him. When the king summoned his first 
Parliament, the Commons would not furnish supplies for carry- 
ing on the war with Spain. The king dismissed them suddenly, 
and then attempted to compel his wealthier subjects to lend 
him money, which really meant to give it to him. Hampden 
refused. When asked, " Why don't you lend as others do ?" 
he replied, " I could be content to lend as well as others, but 
I fear to draw upon myself that curse in Magna Carta, which 
should be read twice a year, against those who infringe it." 
Hampden was arrested and brought before the Council. He 
refused to pay without a warrant of Parliament, and the Council 
did not dare to pursue the matter further. 

Soon, however, the need of money compelled Charles to call 
a second Parliament, in which Hampden and Pym, St. John 
and Eliot were leaders. They forced the king to sign the 
Petition of Right," which, among other things, declared illegal 
the raising of taxes without the consent of Parliament. Though 
the king signed the Petition of Right, it was soon evident 
that he had no intention of obeying it. When the leaders of 
Parliament accused him of playing false, he became enraged, 
imprisoned St. John and Eliot, dissolved Parliament, and deter- 
mined if possible never to call another. 

Hampden lived quietly once more at home; there seemed 
to be nothing that he could do for his country. Suddenly he 
became the most talked-of man in England. He had refused 
to pay the ship money. In earlier times the counties along the 
coast were frequently called on to furnish ships for their own 
defense, or, instead of ships, they were sometimes permitted to 



192 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



give money. When King Charles learned of this old custom, he 
levied ship money not only upon the coast counties, but upon 
all the counties of England. 

The amount assessed on John Hampden was less than 
twenty shillings. To pay such a sum was nothing to so rich 
a man as Hampden, but he was willing to sacrifice everything 
rather than principle; he declared the tax illegal, and refused 
to pay one penny. He was brought before the courts, and the 
king achieved a victory. The levying of ship money was de- 
clared legal, and Hampden paid his twenty shillings. But such 

a victory was 
worse than a 
defeat, for the 
whole country 
was on Hamp- 
den's side, and 
the king was 
more hated 
than ever. 

For eleven 
years England 

was governed without a Parliament. At last Charles found that 
forced loans, ship money, and other roundabout methods of ob- 
taining revenue were absolutely insufficient to provide him with 
the funds he needed. Much against his will, he summoned a 
Parliament. One of its first acts was to punish Thomas Went- 
worth, the Earl of Strafford (Straf'urd), who entered Parliament 
at the same time as John Hampden. Like Hampden, Went- 
worth was a zealous reformer, and had suffered imprisonment 

* This coin, called the unite, commemorated the union of England and Scotland 
by the legend "King of Great Britain, France and Ireland" on one side and "I 
will make them one people " on the reverse. It was the first coin which bore the 
legend " Great Britain," instead of " England and Scotland." 




A GOLD COIN OF JAMES I. 



JOHN HAMPDEN. ioj 

for refusing to contribute to the forced loan. While Hampden 
became distinguished in Parliament for coolness and sagacity, 
Wentworth won renown for fire and eloquence ; but unlike Hamp- 
den, Wentworth always did what seemed to him to be for his 
own interests. Charles determined to buy him over, and aston- 
ished the whole country by making him a baron. 

" For what has he been ennobled ? " asked Lord Powis. 

" Because," replied a friend, " he is descended from John of 
Gaunt, and has the blood royal in his veins." 

'The blood royal!" exclaimed Powis. " If he ever be- 
comes king of England, I will turn rebel." 

A few days after Wentworth had become a peer he met one 
of his former companions in the House of Commons. ' You 
see, Mr. Pym, I have left you." 

" Yes," answered Pym, " I do perceive that you have left 
us; but we have no intention to leave you until we have the 
head off your shoulders." 

Thus was Wentworth hated when he entered the king's ser- 
vice. As he was made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Earl of 
Strafford, as day by day he gave the king advice how to make 
himself more absolute, as little by little he became the real ruler 
of the kingdom, the hatred of his opponents increased. Two 
lives could not show greater contrasts than those of Hampden 
and Strafford. Hampden always placed his country first, him- 
self last; to Strafford his own interests were paramount. 

Charles made demands of Parliament, and Parliament made 
demands of the king. A year and more passed ; then one day 
the king sent the sergeant-of-arms to arrest five members of the 
House of Commons, Denzil Ho-llis, Arthur Hazlerig, William 
Strode, John Hampden, and John Pym. The House quietly 
sent back word that it would consider the matter, and the 
accused persons would be ready to answer any legal charge. 
The next day the king made a great mistake; he came in person 
13 



194 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

to the House of Commons, seated himself in the Speaker's 
chair, and demanded that the men be at once arrested. He 
looked about the room, but the five members were not there. 

" Mr. Speaker," said the king, " are any of these persons in 
the House ? Do you see any of them ? " 

" Your Majesty must excuse me," replied the Speaker, fall- 
ing on his knees. " I am the servant of the House, and have 
neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak anything but as the 
House is pleased to direct." 

" Well," returned Charles, " since I see the birds have flown, 
I expect that you will send them to me as soon as they return." 
Then taking his hat, he left the room. 

The king's undignified act greatly injured his cause. London 
was on the side of his opponents in Parliament ; and when, a few 
days later, the five members who had been in hiding returned, 
they were escorted by thirty or forty barges carrying guns and 
flags. But Charles did not hear the shouts of the multitude as 
they brought back their favorites. The day before, the king and 
his wife and friends had fled from London. 

Nothing further could be done by either side without a 
resort to arms. Parliament took the first step and raised an 
army " for the safety of the king's person and the safety of the 
country." A month later the king rode out of Leicester to 
Castle Hill in Nottingham, and set up his standard. Once 
more civil war had begun in England. Two months later the 
armies met at Edgehill in the County of Essex, and for the first 
time since the battle of Bosworth, more than a hundred and 
fifty years before, a battle was fought on English soil. The 
two armies hesitated to approach each other, but when the bat- 
tle once began, it was long and fierce. In fact, it was a drawn 
battle, and each side withdrew to repair damages and prepare 
for another engagement. 

Hampden, though a good soldier, was a better statesman; 



JOHN HAMPDEN. 



195 



yet his work was about finished. In a skirmish at Chalgrove a 
bullet struck him in the shoulder. For six days he lived in 
great pain, but with all his thoughts devoted to the affairs of 
his country. His funeral was in charge of the Green-Coats whom 
he commanded. Doubtless, by his early death for the sake of 




From the painting by Lucas. 

a cavalier's TALE OK THE battle of edgehill. 



liberty, John Hampden aided the cause more than if his life had 
been longer. The world has never seen a nobler example of an 
honest, true-hearted, whole-souled patriot than John Hampden. 

Tell the story of Robert Carey. 

State the reasons why James of Scotland was in the line of succes- 
sion to the English throne. 

Describe James's reception in England. 



I96 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Show how the Stuarts lost the good-will of the people. 

Give an account of the life of John Hampden: his ancestry; his 
contempt for empty honors ; his refusal to lend money to Charles ; his 
refusal to pay the ship money. 

Contrast the characters of Hampden and Wentworth. 

Tell the story of Charles's struggles with Parliament; his mistakes; 
the final results. 

How was the prophecy concerning the Stone of Destiny fulfilled ? What 
are the first seven great dates in English history ? Why did not James start 
for England immediately after receiving the news of Elizabeth's death ? 
Why were the English pleased to have a king ? Are honors that do not 
come as rewards worth anything ? How does the success of a bad cause 
often hurt it more than a defeat ? Why did not Charles see the conse- 
quences of his high-handed proceedings ? Hampden's refusal to obey 
the commands of the king helped to bring on civil war; how then was 
he a patriot ? Is it true that a just war is better than an unjust peace ? 



s/jcvmw, 

SIGNATURE OF KING JAMES I. 




"~T 




SPIPiiP ■ 



CHAPTER XX. 



Oliver Cromwell. 



1599-1658. 

Oliver Cromwell was five years younger than his cousin, 
John Hampden. He was a nephew of that Sir Oliver Cromwell 
who gave such hospitable welcome to James I. when he jour- 
neyed through England. The uncle thus expressed the kindly 
feelings of the people of England regarding the Stuart king in 
1603; and forty years later the nephew was leading the people 
in their struggle against another Stuart king. Oliver was edu- 
cated at Cambridge University, and studied law at Lincoln's 
Inn, London. He then returned to his country place, where he 
was chosen a member of Charles's third Parliament, the one in 
which his cousin became most prominent. 

John Hampden was a handsome man of refined tastes and 
exquisite manner. Oliver Cromwell was a great contrast to his 
cousin. One of the courtiers of the day describes him as he 
first saw him: " I came into the House one morning and per- 
ceived a gentleman speaking whom I knew not, very ordinarily 



198 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

apparaled, for it was a plain cloth suit which seemed to be 
made by an ill country tailor. His linen was plain and not very 
clean and I remember a spot or two of blood upon his little 
band, which was not much larger than his collar. His hat was 
without a hatband. His stature was of a good size; his sword 
stuck close to his side; his countenance was swollen and red- 
dish; his voice sharp and untunable, and his eloquence full of 
fervor." 

Parliament was dissolved too soon for Cromwell to make any 
mark, and did not meet again for eleven years. During this 
period he had not changed his manner or his style of dress; but 
behind these outward peculiarities was a depth of ability known 
only to his friends. 

" Who is that sloven who has spoken so warmly to-day ?" 
asked the aged Earl of Derby, who had been one of Queen 
Elizabeth's courtiers fifty years before. 

Hampden replied, " That sloven is named Oliver Cromwell, 
my lord, and if we come to a break with the king — which God 
forbid! — that sloven will be the greatest man in England." 

The quarrel between the king and Parliament came on. Par- 
liament raised an army, and many members took commissions 
and set to work to form regiments. Among the most energetic 
were Colonels Hampden and Cromwell. Hampden soon brought 
together a fine regiment of foot soldiers made up of his tenants 
and neighbors. Cromwell was not so wealthy as his cousin, nor 
did he have so great influence in his neighborhood, but he was 
a man of strong religious feelings, and his soldiers were honest, 
sturdy, independent yeomen, " men of religion." In Crom- 
well's own words, " no blasphemy, drinking, disorder, or im- 
piety are suffered in the ranks. Not a man swears but pays 
twelve pence." Such were Cromwell's " Ironsides." 

The battle of Edgehill greatly raised the hopes of the king 
and the Cavaliers (Kav-a-lers'), as the king's followers were 



OLIVER CROMWELL. 



I 99 



called, and the death of Hampden was a severe blow to the Par- 
liamentary forces. The Cavaliers, taking advantage of the tem- 
porary weakness of their opponents, attacked Gloucester, the 
only western city which the king did not hold. The army 
appeared before the city, and two heralds were sent to call 
the garrison to surrender. The answer was brought by two 
men whose lean, sharp countenances caused much merriment. 

" We have come," said they, 
" with an answer from the godly 
city of Gloucester to the king." 
Well, what is your an- 
swer ? " asked the Cavaliers 
laughing. 

"It is this," replied the 
Roundheads, for such was the 
nickname given to the Parlia- 
mentary forces because of their 
close-cut hair. " We, the in- 
habitants, magistrates, officers, 
and soldiers within the garrison 
of Gloucester, unto his majesty's 
gracious message return this 
humble answer: That we do 
keep this city according to our 
oaths and allegiance to and for 

the use of his majesty and his royal posterity, and conceiving our- 
selves wholly bound to obey the commands of his majesty, sig- 
nified by both houses of Parliament, we are resolved with God's 
help to keep the city accordingly." And keep the city they 
did, until the Earl of Essex, captain-general of the Parliamentary 
army, arrived and drove the royal forces away. 

This success at Gloucester was followed by a drawn battle at 
Newbury. Had the conduct of the war been left perpetually 




CHARLES I. 



200 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



to Essex and the original higher officers of the Parliamentary 
army, it might have continued indefinitely. But while the 
drawn battles, slow marches, and perpetual sieges were taking 



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From the painting by Van Dyck. 

THE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 
Who became Charles II., James II., and Mary, the mother of William III. 

place in the west of England, Lord Fairfax and Oliver Crom- 
well were winning important battles in the east and the north. 

The turning point of the war came when a quarrel arose in 
Parliament over matters of religion. A large portion of the 
members were opposed to the Church of England. The major- 



OLIVER CROMWELL. 201 

ity preferred the Scottish form of worship, and were called Pres- 
byterians; while a minority, led by Oliver Cromwell, Oliver St. 
John, and Sir Harry Vane, called themselves Independents, 
because they believed that each congregation should manage 
all its church affairs. for itself. The quarrel in the House of 
Commons between the Presbyterians and the Independents 
became very bitter. The Independents felt that their own 
earnestness was not shared by the Presbyterians, and that with- 
out such earnestness the war could never be ended. They suc- 
ceeded in passing the so-called " self-denying ordinance," for- 
bidding any officer of the army to be at the same time a mem- 
ber of Parliament. Essex and his fellow-officers resigned from 
the army, and Fairfax was made general, with Cromwell next 
in command. They, with many other officers, resigned from 
Parliament. 

The effect of the " new model," as it was called, was soon 
seen. After a few months spent in drilling and reorganizing, 
Fairfax met the royal forces at the village of Naseby (Naz'bi). 
The fiercest battle of the war followed. The Cavaliers fought 
with a valor worthy of the best of causes, but they could not 
withstand Cromwell's Ironsides. Through the whole battle 
Charles fought like a hero. His infantry presented an un- 
broken front to the very end, but the artillery was captured 
and turned against them. 

" We are lost," they cried. 

Not yet," replied Charles; " one more charge and we will 
yet recover the day." 

"Would you rush upon your death?" asked the Earl of 
Carnworth, laying his hand upon the king's bridle and turning 
his horse's head in the opposite direction. Charles fled to 
the royal town of Oxford, where he spent a year, doubtless the 
most unhappy year of his life. One by one castles and cities 
were captured ; Fairfax and Cromwell approached as near as 



202 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Newcastle, and the king decided to flee. He cut off his hair, 
disguised himself as a servant, and with two attendants left 
Oxford at night. He succeeded in passing through the lines of 
the Parliamentary army, and wandered about until he reached 
Newark, where he surrendered himself to the Scottish army. 
Its commander, the Earl of Leven, immediately informed Par- 
liament that the king had taken refuge with him. Parliament 
offered to pay the Scots two hundred thousand pounds if they 
would deliver the king to them, and the offer was accepted. 
When Charles heard of this transaction, he said quietly, " I am 
bought and sold." No honor was acquired by either party in 
this buying and selling of a king. 

After being held in one castle after another in constant fear 
of assassination, Charles fled to the Isle of Wight, where he 
hoped that the governor would be friendly. Though a royalist, 
the governor was the son-in-law of Hampden, and therefore 
connected with Cromwell, so he did not dare to assist the king. 
After a year of captivity on the island, the king was carried 
to Windsor Castle, soon to meet a trial for treason. 

While Charles was on the Isle of Wight, he had entered into 
a secret treaty with the Scots, promising to establish the Pres- 
byterian Church in England if they would assist in restoring 
him to the throne. The Scots marched into England, and the 
royalists arose to support them. When the Independent leaders 
heard of the treaty, they declared that they would bring the 
king to justice. Naturally the Presbyterians were opposed to 
any such action, and they were in the majority in Parliament. 
Fairfax and his army marched to London, and one morning 
Colonel Pride surrounded the House of Parliament and arrested 
the members who were opposed to the Independents, seizing 
them one by one as they came from the session. This action, 
which has been called "Pride's Purge," reduced the member- 
ship of the House of Commons to about fifty. The Parliament 



OLIVER CROMWELL. 203 

thus formed has been named " The Rump," and all its mem- 
bers were not only intensely hostile to King Charles, but op- 
posed to all kings and kingdoms. Cromwell was not present, 
but he afterward approved the action of Colonel Pride. 

The Rump Parliament passed an ordinance to bring King 
Charles to trial. The king was brought into Westminster Hall 
into the presence of the judges, who, clothed in scarlet, sat on 
benches rising one above the other. As he was led in front of 
the chief justice, Charles paid no respect to the court, not even 
removing his hat. He gave the judges a stern glance, and they, 
also wearing their hats, steadfastly returned his look. Charles 
seated himself and looked about the hall ; on all sides were 
soldiers — in every window and every door — and in the rear was 
a dense throng of people. 

Day after day the trial continued, and when a week had 
passed, Charles realized that the sentence would be death. He 
rose and asked the court that he might be heard, saying, " I am 
sure that what I have to say is well worth hearing." It is prob- 
able that Charles would have abdicated in favor of his son, but 
the judges would not permit him to speak. Bradshaw, the 
chief justice, said at the conclusion of a long speech, " Sir, 
that which we are now upon is to try and judge you for your 
great offenses. This charge has called you tyrant, traitor, mur- 
derer, — it would have been well if any of these might have been 
spared. The sentence which the law now affirms, you are now 
to hear. Make silence! Read the sentence! " 

The clerk read: " Charles Stuart, as a tyrant, traitor, mur- 
derer, and public enemy to the good people of this nation, shall 
be put to death by severing of his head from his body." 

Three days later the sentence was carried out in the presence 
of an immense multitude. The beheading of a king by order of 
his subjects was new in the history of the world. ' Was there 
something divine in the right of kings?" ' What a terrible 



204 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

thing to behead the ruler of the nation!" So thought the 
people, and a deep groan went through the crowd. Nowhere 
was any joy shown, and no shout of approval was heard; the 
crowd was sullen, and ready for any deed of vengeance. A 
company of cavalry galloped in from one side, another body of 
troops from the other, and in a few moments the multitudes 
were dispersed. 

What next ? England had no king, or was Prince Charles king ? 
The Rump Parliament immediately passed an act prohibiting 
the proclaiming of any person king of England. It dissolved 
the House of Lords, declared England a republic, under the 
name of 8< the Commonwealth," and appointed a council of 
state of which Justice Bradshaw was president, the poet Milton 
foreign secretary, and Fairfax commander of the army. Fair- 
fax soon resigned, and Cromwell was made commander-in-chief. 

The new republic had its difficulties. The king's death had 
increased the number of the Royalists; the Presbyterians hated 
the Rump Parliament and the army; fanatics among the Inde- 
pendents themselves caused trouble. War broke out in Ireland, 
where the Royalists proclaimed Prince Charles king. Cromwell 
put down this rebellion quickly and thoroughly. In Scotland 
Charles himself was routed, and a year later he was defeated so 
decisively that he never tried again. 

Cromwell learned that Parliament was preparing for another 
election, with the provision that all the members of the Rump 
Parliament should be members of the new House. The army 
believed that this was for the purpose of keeping the Rump 
perpetually in power, though doubtless the idea of Parliament 
was to protect itself from Cromwell as a military dictator. On 
the day when the vote was to be taken, Cromwell entered the 
House, made a speech charging the Commons with injustice 
and misgovernment, and ended by saying, " You are no Parlia- 
ment. I say you are no Parliament! " Calling in his soldiers, 



OLIVER CROMWELL. 



205 



he drove every member from the room, locked the door, and 
put the key in his pocket. 

Cromwell summoned a new Parliament, which has been called 
" Barebone's Parliament," from the name of one of its mem- 
bers, Praise-God Barebone. This Parliament made Cromwell 
Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland. A later 




J'roiii the fainting by Maguire. 

CROMWELL REFUSING THE CROWN OK ENGLAND. 

Parliament offered him the crown, which he refused, but for five 
years he had practically absolute power. He made a good ruler, 
yet he was a tyrant, for he had no legal right to his position. 
Though an Independent, he permitted all forms of worship. In 
foreign affairs he proved himself a great statesman, and England 
was more respected abroad under Cromwell than under Charles. 
British ships won every battle in which they were engaged, and 
commerce increased with great rapidity. 



2o6 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

After five years in power Oliver Cromwell died, and was 
succeeded by his son Richard. Eight months later Richard 
was glad to resign at the request of the army. General Monk, 
commanding the army in Scotland, came to London determined 
that England should have a fair, complete Parliament. The 
Rump met again, called back to its membership those who had 
been driven out by Pride's Purge, and summoned a new Parlia- 
ment to be elected as previous Parliaments had been. Prince 
Charles was invited to take the throne, and once more England 
had a king, Charles II. 

The work of Hampden, Cromwell, and other reformers had 
apparently failed. Everybody strove to carry out the wishes of 
the new king, and for a time his power was absolute. His father, 
though a poor statesman, was a good man, while Charles II. 
was not only a poor statesman, but he was a bad man. Little 
by little he lost the good-will of the people as did his father 
and grandfather, but his reign of twenty-five years was a period 
of peace and prosperity. His brother James, who succeeded 
him as king, was unpopular for the same reasons as Charles II., 
and, besides, he was a Roman Catholic. The religious fears of 
the people were aroused. In three years James was driven 
from the throne and the country, and his daughter Mary and 
her husband, William of Orange, were elected queen and king. 
The reign of William and Mary began in 1689. This is the 
eighth great date in English history — the final establishment 
of Parliamentary control of the government. 

The revolution of 1689 was accomplished without bloodshed; 
there was no excitement, no disturbance. The time had come. 
John Hampden's work for English liberties was accomplished. 
Fifty years and more had passed since he refused to pay the 
ship money, and during that half century the English people 
had come to accept his ideas. He started the movement, and 
though it was slow and had its ups and downs, it was neverthe- 



OLIVER CROMWELL. 207 

less sure and finally successful. From the day of the coronation 
of William and Mary, England has had a government which, 
through Parliament, has been a government " of the people, 
by the people, and for the people." 

Describe the personal appearance of Oliver Cromwell ; of his Iron- 
sides. 

Tell the story of the siege of Gloucester; the "new model"; the 
battle of Naseby ; Pride's Purge. 

Give an account of the flight of Charles I. ; his capture; his trial ; 
his death. 

Describe how Cromwell took possession of the government; his 
ability as a ruler. 

What was the cause of the revolution ? 

Why did Cromwell's Ironsides make such good soldiers ? What 
kind of a war is the most fiercely fought ? What was the necessity for 
the "self-denying ordinance" ? How were the proceedings of the 
Independents different from Charles's attempts to rule without Parlia- 
ment ? Did the people have any more control of the government under 
Cromwell's rule ? Was Charles's trial in accord with Magna Carta ? 
W r hy did the king's death increase the number of royalists ? If Crom- 
well was a tyrant, how was he better than Charles ? What are the first 
eight great dates in English history ? 




.J 

THE COMMONWEALTH FLAG. 




CHAPTER XXI. 

Isaac Newton. 

1642-1727. 



The England of Cromwell was not the " Merrie England " 
of Queen Elizabeth. The Puritans had seen so much that was 
evil in the merrymakings and the extravagances of the times 
that, when they controlled the government, they changed many 
of the old customs. It was fitting that the inhabitants of a 
" kingdom of God," as they hoped England would be, should 
live soberly. Therefore theaters were closed, sports were abol- 
ished, and the holiday amusements stopped. The people dressed 
in plainer clothes and lived frugally. The Puritans failed to see 
that " all work and no play" was good for no one, and that in 
the effort to root out evils many innocent amusements and 
pleasures were taken away from the people. They grew restive 
because of the dullness of their daily life, and when Charles 
II. came to the throne, the nation went to the other extreme. 
It is always true that, if a pendulum is swung too far in one 
direction, it will surely swing as far to the other side. Frivolity 



ISAAC NEWTON, 



209 



and pleasure became the fashion of the day. Society became 
hard and brazen, with little care for modesty in word or act. 
Young men went about at night amusing themselves by doing 
all the mischief they could; dueling was common, and even 
peaceable folk had to go armed. 

Early in the reign of Charles II. a plague broke out in Lon- 
don. Defoe wrote in his Journal: 

" A dreadful plague in London was in the year sixty-five, 
Which swept a hundred thousand souls away — yet I alive." 

The strong died as well as the weak, and for a time it seemed 
as though no one would escape. " Indeed, good people began 
to think that God was resolved to make a full end of the people 
in this miserable city." Finally, by shutting up houses and 
streets the authorities were able to check the spread of the 
disease, though much complaint was made of their " very cruel 
and unchristian method." 

The plague was followed by a great fire which destroyed 
nearly the whole of London. It broke out in a bakeshop in a 
" little pitiful lane" in the dirtiest and most crowded part of 
the city. The summer had been very dry, water was scarce, 
and near by were buildings filled with tar, pitch, wines, and 
hemp. The fire was soon beyond control, and by the end of 
the third day " there is nothing but stones and rubbish. So 
that you can see almost from one end of the city to the other, 
and you can compare London, were it not for the rubbish, to 
nothing more than an open field." 

The fire really was a great blessing, for it destroyed the 
narrow lanes and streets filled with the dirt of centuries. 
Never had a city a better opportunity to improve its condition. 
They started out to rebuild on a systematized plan, but people 
did not realize then the importance of wide streets and breath- 
14 



210 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

ing places; they grew tired of the delay, and the city was built 
up hurriedly with the streets narrow and crooked as of old, 
without sewers and gutters. If carriages had been common, 
wider streets would have been thought a necessity, but people 




From the painting by Hannah. 
UK. HARVEY DEMONSTRATING THE CIRCULATION OF IIIK BLOOD TO CHARLES I. 

still went about largely on horseback or in sedan chairs. These 
chairs were supported by long poles held by two carriers, one in 
front and one behind. The streets were unlighted, and it was 
customary for people who were out at night to*hire boys with 
lanterns to light the way. 



ISAAC NEWTON. 211 

Though England seemed to go backward in some ways, she 
made great advances in other directions. Thoughtful men were 
beginning to study into the reasons for things, and knowledge 
took the place of guesswork. Even the pleasure-loving Charles 
had his laboratory, and members of the court followed his 
example. A society for the discussion of scientific questions 
was formed, and through its influence old ideas were shown to 
be false. An important discovery that had changed the prac- 
tice of medicine had previously been made by Dr. William 
Harvey. The old-time physicians knew that the body contained 
veins and arteries and that the blood did not remain stagnant, 
but they supposed that the blood was carried from the heart 
to different parts of the body by the veins; that the arteries 
were filled by some other substance — either air or spirits, or a 
combination of the two; and that the beating of the heart was 
caused by the expansion of the spirits it contained. No one 
realized that a continuous flow went from the heart out through 
the arteries and returned by the veins to the lungs, where it was 
purified and sent out once more by the heart to all parts of the 
body. This important truth was discovered by Dr. Harvey. 

No one of all the thoughtful and learned men of this period 
surpassed Isaac Newton in making useful his knowledge. New- 
ton's discoveries revolutionized the whole world of thought and 
science. Alexander Pope has well said: 

" Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night; 

God said, ' Let Newton be ! ' and all was light." 

Yet it is true that no one man ever invents or discovers any- 
thing from beginning to end alone. One searcher finds out one 
truth; another, making use of that, adds a second; another, 
influenced by these two, finds a third; and so on, until at last 
comes a man -who brings together all these many bits of facts 
into a perfect machine or thought. 



212 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



As a boy, Isaac Newton showed no great ability. He always 
stood at the foot of his class, until one day the next boy above 
kicked him. Having beaten this boy in a fight, Isaac deter- 
mined to surpass him also in his studies, and he soon stood not 
only above him, but above all others in his class. In his spare 
moments Newton showed himself different from other boys; 

instead of spending his holidays in 
fishing and rough, boyish games, he 
hammered away at all kinds of me- 
chanical toys in his room over the 
apothecary shop. Probably some of 
these toys were better appreciated by 
the boys for whom they were made 
than by his elders. He taught his 
schoolmates how to make and fly 
paper kites, which were frequently 
sent up after dark with lighted paper 
lanterns attached. The country peo- 
ple thought these were comets and 
were greatly frightened; for if one 
comet in the sky foretold disaster, 
what terrible events must follow the 
appearance of several comets! 

Having watched the construction 
of a windmill near the school, New- 
His little model was a perfect success 
when there was sufficient wind to keep it in motion. He was not 
satisfied with it, however, and fitted up an arrangement whereby 
a mouse, by continually running up a treadmill, could turn the 
sails at all times 

By carefully observing the movements of shadows, he made 
sun-dials, so that " anybody knew by Isaac's dial what o'clock 
it was." For the amusement of his girl friends, he invented a 




A si N-DIAL. 



ton made one himself. 



ISAAC NEWTON. 21 3 

carriage that could be moved by a handle ; this worked well on 
a smooth floor, but was not successful on a rough road. Even 
Newton's genius could not produce an automobile ! 

His mother was not wealthy, and she took him from school 
to make a farmer of him ; but he became a very poor farmer, as 
even his mother was forced to acknowledge. Sheep and cattle, 
and the raising and selling of produce, had not half the attraction 
of a hammer and a saw. The brook was obeying his will, while 
the cattle went astray, and his old servant bought the family sup- 
plies while he read a book. Mrs. Newton ceased begging and 
commanding, and sent him off to college at Cambridge, where he 
was in his proper place. Though his preparation for college had 
been less than that of most of his fellow-students, he soon sur- 
passed them all in mathematics and science. Before he was grad- 
uated he corrected many errors in the old sciences, and after 
graduation he was appointed Professor of Mathematics. When 
not engaged in teaching, he spent his time experimenting. " He 
was hardly ever alone without a pen in his hand or a book before 
him," and when he became tired from one deep study, he rested 
by taking up another equally difficult. He knew that only by 
patient, hard work and study can one accomplish anything really 
worth while. 

Newton was so busily occupied with his work that he paid 
little heed to outside happenings. Many amusing stories are 
told of his absent-mindedness. He would forget to dress in the 
morning ; he would not remember to go to his meals. It is said, 
though the story may not be true, that one day an intimate 
friend was invited to dine with him ; the dinner was served, 
but still Newton did not appear. At last the friend grew too 
hungry to wait longer, so he sat down at the table and be- 
gan to eat a chicken, the bones of which he carefully replaced 
under the cover of the dish. When Newton came in, he re- 
moved the cover, and said, as he looked at the bones, " How 



214 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

absent-minded we philosophers are ! I really thought I had 
not dined." 

The old theory about colors was that every object in nature 
had its own color: that a red flower was red because it was 
red ; that the grass was green because it was green ; that the 
sky was blue because it was blue, and that the sea was blue be- 
cause the white salt had become mixed with the black water. 
Every one knows now that water has no color of itself, but ap- 
pears blue, green, or gray because of the variations in its depth 
or because of the color of the sky. Newton discovered that the 
grass is green because it reflects back to the eye only the green 
rays of the sunlight and absorbs all the other colors. The whole 
world was against Newton and his theory. Fortunately the time- 
was passed when he could be burned or imprisoned for declaring 
such strange doctrines; but his critics made his life so uncom- 
fortable that if he had been a lesser man he would have been 
forced to give up all further research. " 1 see," he said, " a 
man must either resolve to find out nothing new, or to be- 
come a slave to defend it." 

Since the world began, all peoples have been interested in the 
study of the heavens. By the regular returning of the moon 
the ancients kept account of time ; by the stars the traveler 
found his way over the desert or the sea. When certain constel- 
lations appeared above the eastern horizon, the farmer knew it 
was time to sow his grain ; after man}- moons other arrangements 
of stars came in sight, and he knew it was time to harvest. Wise 
men attempted to stud}- out the laws that kept the stars in 
their places; they had no help but the eye, and their results were 
mere imaginings and guesswork. The Greeks thought that the 
sun was a torch and the stars were candles. Other peoples 
had different ideas, but all believed that the earth was station- 
ary and the center of the universe. 

In time, people came to believe that events were foretold by 



ISAAC NEWTON. 



215 



the appearance of the heavens ; that meteors, comets, and eclipses 
meant misfortune, and that the whole history of men and of 
nations was shown by the stars. Astronomy was used for no 
other purpose than to forecast events, and men made fame and 
fortune by imposing upon the people. Kings and princes were 
as superstitious as the poorest beggars. Even at the present 




From the painting by De L 



THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON. 



time, persons can be found who are terrified by a strange appear- 
ance of the sky or an unusually bright star. 

Copernicus (Ko-per'-ni-kus), a Prussian, discovered that all 
the heavenly bodies do not revolve about the earth ; but it was 
left for Galileo (Gal-i-lee'-o) to^make this fact known to the world. 
He first made use of the telescope, and with it discovered new 
stars and wonders in the heavens, all of which strengthened his 



2l6 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



belief that the earth was not the center of the universe. The 
Pope, however, considered these theories heretical. Galileo was 
summoned to the Vatican, and was compelled to confess that 
he was wrong. 

Newton spent considerable time improving the imperfect 

telescope of his day ; 
still, this important work 
was not his greatest ser- 
vice to astronomers. 
Though the theories of 
Copernicus and Galileo 
were now universally ad- 
mitted to be correct, none 
knew how the suns and 
the planets were kept in 
their places. It was left 
for Newton to discover 
this, the most wonderful 
law in all science, — the 
Law of Gravitation. The 
same power that draws 
to the ground a stone 
thrown into the air, af- 
fects every object, every 
particle of matter in the 
universe. Because every 
heavenly body draws 
every other heavenly body toward it in proportion to its weight 
and distance, all the bodies, and our earth with them, are held in 
their places. Difficult as this may be to understand, it is a much 
more satisfactory explanation than the old idea that the earth 
rested on the back of an elephant and the elephant stood on the 
backs of four tortoises. 







- ^: ,? *> • , i 



THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY AT GREENWICH. 



ISAAC NEWTON. 21 J 

For years Newton worked in poverty and discouragement. 
He found the reasons for the tides of the sea; he learned the 
paths of the comets ; he studied mathematical and theologi- 
cal problems. The work of years was once destroyed by his 
little dog upsetting a lighted candle on his desk. With great 
patience Newton sadly said, " O Diamond, Diamond, little do 
you know the mischief you have done me ! " He was sick and 
alone, but at last came wealth and honors. He was appointed 
Master of the Mint, did valuable service for the government, and 
received a satisfactory income. He was knighted by Queen 
Anne, and was for twenty-five years the president of the Royal 
Society. His generosity was unbounded. One of his friends 
has said that " no man in his circumstances ever gave away so 
much during his lifetime." Newton believed that " they who 
give nothing till they die, never give at all." 

With all his knowledge and with all his honors, Sir Isaac 
Newton, who " surpassed all men in genius," was a modest man. 
He did not like the applause that was deservedly paid him, for 
the very greatness of his knowledge made him humble. Just 
before his death he said, " I do not know what I may appear to 
the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy 
playing on the seashore and diverting myself in now and then 
finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, 
while the great ocean of truth lay undiscovered before me." 
How few can say that they have even picked up pebbles ! 

Describe the changes in England when Charles II. became king. 

Tell the story of the plague; the great fire ; how London was rebuilt. 

Give an account of the old ideas about the circulation of the blood 
and Harvey's discovery ; the theories about the stars and the earth. 

Tell the story of Newton's life: as a schoolboy; as a farmer; as a 
student. 

Tell about his discovery of the laws of color and of gravitation ; his 
generosity. 

Who were the Puritans, and why were they so called? What great 



218 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENC.LAND. 



mistake did the Puritans make? How did it happen that all at once so 
many men turned their attention to science? Can coming events be fore- 
told from the heavens? Why were astrologers so successful in imposing 
upon the people? Would you say that Xewton was a bad boy because he 
did not better attend to his duties? Why was it that the people were 
so easily satisfied with the old theories? Why was the Pope disturbed 
by Galileo's discoveries? 





: ■■--_ ;- ^\ fV*/ 
■ ' ■» .' ■■ v ■ i » , «-*t - . 11 1 ■■-> v - 

Ml /. 1/ ttf^slw 







THE BIRTH-PLACE OF NEWTON. 




'YeVW& PwLfEB&ESC. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



Lord Chatham. 



1708-1778. 

TllE eighteenth century began during the reign of William 
and Mar\-. The next hundred years were a period of steady 
growth in prosperity ; England improved, became more and more 
civilized, and the people had more comforts and happinesses. 
At times during the century, matters of great political impor- 
tance came before the country. The coming of a new family to 
the throne made many changes. After Mary died, King William 
reigned alone until his death, and he was succeeded by Mary's 
sister, Anne, who, after a reign of twelve years, died, leaving no 
children. It was not clear who should succeed her. A younger 
son of James II., called "The Pretender," was a Catholic, and 
would not change his religion for a throne. The nearest Prot- 
estant heir was George, Duke of Hanover, grandson of a sister 
of Charles I. Parliament proclaimed this German prince King 
George I. of England. The Pretender immediately started a 



220 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

revolution, and thirty -years later his son, the Young Pretender, 
made another attempt to restore the Stuarts to the throne, but 
both failed, and the family of Hanover has continued to rule 
England to the present day. 

For the sixth time in English history a foreign family ruled 
England : Saxon, Danish, Norman, French, and Scotch kings 
had followed one another, and now came a German. In most of 
these cases the new kings were descended from the reigning family 
of England, but they had been born and bred upon foreign soil; 
they were accustomed to a way of life unlike that of England ; 
they did not understand English forms of government; they did 
not comprehend the power of the English yeoman. Therefore 
they frequently got into trouble and met with more perplexities 
than would have vexed an English-born ruler. George of Han- 
over was the most non-English of all the foreign kings. He 
loved his native country, as did his son George II., who suc- 
ceeded him. He could not speak one word of English, and the 
government was left to a cabinet composed of the leading men 
of one or the other of the two great parties. From that time to 
the present, the political history of England has been of parties, 
cabinets, and prime ministers, rather than of kin^s. 

The two parties that sprang up after the accession of William 
and Mary were for more than a century called Tory and Whig. 
The Tories have always followed a conservative policy, and are 
now known as Conservatives: they prefer to make changes very 
slowly and to continue the existing order of things as long as 
possible. The Whigs, now called Liberals, have been willing to 
make any change in the government that seemed best, and have 
upheld the people when their interests were opposed to those of 
the king. At one time the Whigs were in power and the king 
was surrounded by Whig advisers. At other times, when the 
Tories were more popular, the government was in the hands 
of a Tory cabinet and a Tory prime minister. 



LORD CHATHAM. 



221 



One of the most noted of these party 
leaders was William Pitt, better known 
as the Earl of Chatham (Chat'am), to 
distinguish him from his son William 
Pitt, who also became prime minister. 
The Pitt family first became prominent 
in the times of the grandfather of Wil- 
liam Pitt, who, while governor of Madras 
(Ma-dras'), bought of a native Indian 
prince a diamond of great beauty, the 
largest at that time known. He carried 
it in safety to Europe in a cavity hol- 
lowed out in his high-heeled shoe, and 
sold it for more than six times the price 
paid, a sum sufficient to bring the family 
great wealth. 

William was a younger son and, as 
he could not inherit the family wealth, 
it was necessary for him to choose a pro- 
fession. A position as Cornet of Horse 

in the army was obtained for him and he entered upon his duties 
with great enthusiasm. It is said that he read through every 
military book written. When only twenty-seven years old, he 
was chosen a member of the House of Commons, and he soon 
became the leader of the younger Whigs, called by the prime 
minister " the boys." At first Walpole, the prime minister, de- 
spised them because of their youth and laughed at their high 
ideals, saying that when they grew older they would learn that 
they must take the world as it is, and not as it ought to be. But 
he soon saw that some of them had great ability and that their 
views could not be set aside with a laugh. Pitt was so especially 
prominent in his opposition to Walpole that his army commission 
was taken from him. "At all events," said the prime minister, 




A CORNET OF HORSE. 



222 FIRST STEPS IX THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

" we must muzzle that terrible Cornet of Horse." Pitt was 
a poor man, and Walpole doubtless thought that this disgrace 
would compel him to give up politics; but, instead, it made him 
a hero with the people, and in twenty years he held the highest 
office in the land. 

Some verses by Lord Lyttleton show that Pitt's ability was 
appreciated by his friends. He wrote: 

"Long had thy virtues marked thee out for fame, 
Far, far superior to a Cornet's name; 
This gen'rous Walpole saw, and grieved to find 
So mean a post disgraced that noble mind. 
The servile standard from thy freeborn hand 
He took, and bade thee lead the patriot' 's band." 

Pitt now put all his talents, .all his energy, into political life. 
He soon proved that there is always " room enough for him who 
can reach over and above the heads of the crowd." He was a 
wonderful orator; before his stinging words and flashing eyes 
his most powerful enemies shrank and trembled. He learned 
that the common folk, not the dukes and lords, but the great 
middle class of the people, held the real power in England. His 
absolute honest\- gained the confidence of the merchants, and 
his love of country gave him the admiration and affection of the 
massis. 

Pitt set himself against the giving and taking of bribes in a 
time when the majority of English statesmen saw no wrong in 
this practice. Most of them believed with Walpole that " every 
man has his price "; that any man would perform any service if 
a sufficient sum of money or a coveted position was given him. 
Others tried to git tin- most they could out of their positions 
for their private advantage; but Pitt ever refused to use the 
government's money for himself. One prominent statesman once 
wrote to his brother, " I think him [Mr. PittJ the most able and 



LORD CHATHAM. 



223 



useful man we have among us; truly honorable and strictly 
honest." 

It was the custom of Parliament to pay the king of Sardinia 
yearly a sum of money to keep him from joining England's ene- 
mies ; it was also the custom for the " Paymaster of the Forces'* 
to take out a certain part of this 
money for his own use. Pitt, 
when he was paymaster, gave 
over the full amount. The king 
was so delighted with his honesty 
that he offered as a gift the same 
sum that Pitt would have re- 
ceived if he had followed the 
usual custom. Even the gift was 
refused. Pitt said that Parlia- 
ment voted the money for one 
purpose, and he had no right to 
use any part of it for another. 

An incident that happened 
many years afterwards also shows 
Pitt's honesty and his unwilling- 
ness to be turned from his duty 
by threats or bribes. Lord Fal- 
mouth, a famous naval officer, 
came to Pitt and asked to be 
recommended to the king when the next vacancy occurred in 
the Order of the Garter. Now the members of the Order of the 
Garter, so called because of its badge of a band or garter worn 
about the leg or arm. held the highest rank among the English 
knights, and Pitt, though he had a great admiration for Lord 
Falmouth, did not think him worthy of this high honor. 

^ On Pitt's refusal to make this request of the king, Falmouth 
said, "You will be pleased, Sir, to remember that^ I bring in 




A KNIGHT OF THE ORDER OF THE 
GARTER. 



224 



FIRST STEPS IX THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



five votes who will go with the ministry in the House of 
Commons.'' 

" Your Lordship threatens me ! " cried Pitt. " You may there- 
fore be assured that so long as I hold a place in the councils of 
the crown, you shall never receive the Order of the Garter." 

About the middle of the eighu 
teenth century war broke out be- 
tween England and France for the 
possession of land in America. 
Each country had colonies in the 
new land, and the English in Amer- 
ica had no greater love for their 
French neighbors than had the 
mother country for her neighbor 
across the Channel. The English 
colonies had always claimed the 
whole land from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific, but the settlers were 
too few at first to pay much atten- 
tion to the vast stretches of coun- 
try beyond the Alleghany Moun- 
tains. The land along the Atlantic 
coast was for a long while wide 
enough for all who came from Eng- 
land; but as time went on, trappers 
and hunters began to push across 
the Blue Ridge, only to find that the land was already occupied. 
Mere scattered settlements were there to be sure, but these were 
inhabited by their old foes, the Frenchmen. 

The French had a flourishing colony in Canada and a settle- 
ment at New Orleans, at the mouth of the Mississippi. They 
also claimed the land between these two colonies, and built a 
chain of forts reaching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of 







TERRITORIAL POSSESSIONS IN 
AMERICA. 



LORD CHATHAM. 225 

the St. Lawrence. Each nationality resented the presence' of the 
other in the disputed territory. The parent nations naturally 
upheld their children, and war broke out not only in America, 
but in Europe as well. 

English affairs were badly managed. The men in control of 
the government were incompetent; the generals were appointed 
because of family or influence ; battles were lost, and the people 
became discouraged. No one wanted to enter the army or navy, 
and no banker was willing to lend money for the support of the 
war. All felt as did Lord Chesterfield, who declared : " The French 
are masters to do what they please in America. We are no longer 
a nation. I never yet saw so dreadful a prospect." 

At this time Pitt became prime minister. He entered upon 
his office with the determination to arouse England from her 
stupor. He thoroughly believed in her powers, and it was not 
long before England believed in herself. The whole conduct of 
the war was changed ; generals were appointed not because they 
had family and influence, but because they had ability. The vic- 
tory of Wolfe at Quebec brought to an end the French power in 
America, and by the treaty of peace the English were given un- 
disputed authority from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River. 

" These," said Horace Walpole, " are the doings of Mr. Pitt, 
and they are wondrous in our eyes." 

"Time was when it was praise and boast enough 
In every clime, and travel where we might, 

That we were born her children ; praise enough 
To fill the ambition of a private man, 

That Chatham's language was his mother tongue, 

And Wolfe's great name compatriot with his own." 

But again the times changed. A new king, George III., 
came to the throne, and he was a man in every respect different 
from his grandfather, George II. He had been brought up on 

15 



226 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

English soil, and though he had no great ability, he was not con- 
tent to be a figure head. " Be king, George, be king," his mother 
had continually said to him, and king in more than name he 
determined to be. The king hated his minister, probably because 
he saw that Pitt was a greater man than himself ; he would not 
uphold his plans, and Pitt, even before the end of the war, was 
obliged to resign. The French were delighted, for they considered 
that Pitt's fall was of more value to them than " the winning of 
two battles." 

Pitt soon afterwards became minister again, but he did not 
hold office long. The king later made him Lord Chatham, a 
rank which gave him a seat in the House of Lords. It is thought 
that the king did not intend to honor him so much as to make 
him lose his popularity among the people. A leader from the 
ranks of the common people always lost his influence when he 
was willing to accept a peerage. The mobs who, only a few years 
before, were thronging about Pitt's carriage and even " kissing 
his horses," now greeted him with howls of abuse ; they forgot 
all the good that he had done; their love suddenly turned to hate. 
If the king had hoped for this, he surely had his desire. 

King George's stubbornness soon brought England into a con- 
test with the American colonies. The war with the French had 
been an expensive one and had been mostly for the benefit of the 
colonies, who were not numerous enough or rich enough to carry on 
the war alone. England had freely given money and men, and now 
George and certain of his advisers thought that it was only fair for 
the colonies to pay back some of that which had been spent for 
them. Put Parliament should have asked the colonies for it in- 
stead of taxing them. The English in America had been a long 
time absent from the mother country ; they had been far removed 
from the court, and freedom had strengthened their love of liberty 
and weakened their belief in the rights of kings and lords. They 
had grown independent in thought, and speech, and government. 



LORD CHATHAM. 



227 



To be sure, their governors were appointed in England and all 
their trade had to be carried on with England, but each colony 
made its own laws, and voted how and where its money should 
be used. They resented that a Parliament across the sea, a Par- 
liament in which they had no representatives and no votes, 
should make them pay taxes. 

Pitt and the wisest of the English statesmen saw that trouble 
would follow if George per- 
sisted in his plans, but the king 
was either too blind or too stub- 
born to change them. A Stamp 
Act was passed which com- 
pelled the colonists to use 
stamped paper for all legal 
matters. If a man made a 
will, he must pay for the stamp 
on the paper on which the will 
was written ; if he sold a house, 
he must buy a stamp for the 
deed. All this extra money 
went to the English govern- 
ment. It was only a little for 
this colonist and a little for his 
neighbor; it was not the size georgi hi. 

of the tax that made them 

rebel. The question in their minds was, "Who has the right 
to tax us ? " 

Such a commotion was caused in the colonies that Parliament 
was compelled to repeal the Stamp Act. Still George did not 
give up his theory that England had the right to tax, and duties 
were placed upon many imported articles that the colonists could 
not produce in America. The colonists either went without or 
else found something to take their place, until at last all duties 




228 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



were removed except that on teas. Surely the Americans would 
not give up their tea ! 

By this time all the colonies had become thoroughly aroused. 
" No taxation without representation " became the cry from 
Maine to Georgia. The people refused to drink tea ; and the 




AMERICAN COLONISTS BURNING THE STAMP SELLER IN EFFIGY. 



cargoes were either returned to England, or, as in Boston, thrown 
into the harbor. Each side had gone too far to become recon- 
ciled, and war followed. 

It was an unequal contest. On one side was the mother coun- 
try, rich and powerful ; on the other were the American colonies, 
poor, jealous of one another, and widely scattered. What hope 
of success could they have ? The result might perhaps have been 



LORD CHATHAM. 229 

different if France had not come to their help. She sent her men 
and ships, not altogether for love of America, but because she 
hated England and was glad to use every opportunity to do her 
all the harm she could. When peace was declared, England had 
lost her colonies, and the United States was a free and inde- 
pendent country. Henceforth, there were two great English- 
speaking nations. 

Pitt, or Chatham, as he was then called, followed every event 
with great interest, though worn out, not from age, but from sick- 
ness and suffering. When the news came that France had taken 
the American side, England was terrified and many urged that 
peace be made at any price. Pitt would not allow his beloved 
England to be disgraced. Still the friend of America, and still 
grieving that Englishmen should be at war with Englishmen, he 
nevertheless was unwilling that England should be frightened by 
France. Pie was carried from his sick bed to the House of Lords, 
wrapped in flannels and unable to walk without crutches. 

"I thank God." he said, " that I have been enabled to perform 
my duty. I am old and infirm, have one foot in the grave. I 
have risen from my bed to stand up in the cause of my country, 
perhaps never again to speak in this House." 

To his passionate address the prime minister replied. When 
the answer was finished, Pitt tried to stand again, but his 
strength failed ; he fell to the floor and was carried home to die. 

Thus at his post fell one of the greatest of the English states- 
men. He had many faults, he made main- mistakes ; but his love 
of country, his unselfishness, and his virtues, raised him high above 
the other statesmen of his time and make him a worthy example 
for the youth of every land. 

State the reasons why the Pretender should not succeed his sister. 
Tell some of the difficulties that came to the foreign kings. 
Describe the difference between the Tories and the Whigs. 
Tell the story of the life of Lord Chatham ; as Comet of Horse, as 



230 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



member of Parliament, as paymaster; his ability as an orator; his 
honesty. 

Give an account of the troubles in America with France, with the 
colonies. 

Show what were the conditions in England during the early part of the 
French war ; how Pitt changed the whole conduct of the war ; how the 
people of England regarded the war with the colonies. 

Describe the character of George III. ; his dislike of Pitt. 

Why was the son of James II. called the Pretender? How did the 
various foreigners happen to come to the throne of England? What 
brought about the changes in the government of England? Why could 
not William Pitt inherit the family wealth? How had Walpole misread 
Pitt's character? How did Pitt show knowledge of the fact that times had 
changed? What did Lord Falmouth mean by his remark about the five 
votes? What is one of the greatest foes to success? Why did the 
people distrust Pitt after he became an earl? 





BRITISH STAMPS FOR AMERICA.* 



* From Green's " A Short History of the English People." Reproduced by permission of 
Harper and Brothers. 




CHAPTER XXIII. 



Robert Clive. 



1725-1774. 

WHILE England was preparing for her great struggle with 
France, and the English and French colonics in America were so 
hostile that they found it difficult to keep peace with one an- 
other, Englishmen and Frenchmen were beginning a contest in 
far away India. It was at first a battle for commercial suprem- 
acy, for the right to carry on trade with the people of that great 
and flourishing country. Commercial supremacy could not be 
obtained without political power. In India, as well as in America, 
England was finally successful, and her victories in the far East 
were due in great measure to the military ability and political 
statesmanship of one man. 

Robert Clive was born during the later portion of the reign of 
George I. As a boy he enjoyed out-of-door sports more than in- 
door study, although he never entirely neglected his books. He 
entered into all his games with great energy, and was said to be 



232 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

" out of measure addicted to fighting." He was always famous 
for courageous exploits, many of which showed more foolhardi- 
ness than judgment. When eleven years old he one day climbed 
the lofty steeple of a church, and seated himself on the stone 
dragon's head at the top, where he remained for some time, 
terrifying the villagers by his dangerous position. As a man 
he showed the same disregard for a proper care of himself that 
he did when a boy. 

Clive's family was not wealthy, and they were glad to obtain 
for him a clerkship in the service of the East India Company at 
Madras. At the age of eighteen he left England, and after a 
voyage of fifteen months reached India. His first experiences in 
that country were far from pleasing. He was greatly in debt to 
the captain of the vessel on which he sailed, because of the length 
of the voyage. He had no friends, and being naturally shy with 
strangers did not attempt to make any. Moreover, he disliked 
his work; to be shut up day after day as a clerk in a business 
house was not in accord with his natural disposition. He became 
so discouraged that he determined to put an end to his life. He 
pointed a pistol at his head, but it missed fire; again he made the 
attempt and again failed. When an acquaintance entered his 
room, Clive asked him to fire off the pistol, and it was discharged 
at the first attempt. Thereupon Clive exclaimed, "Surely I must 
be reserved for something great, for I have twice fired that pistol 
at my head and it would not go off." 

In order to understand the work that Robert Clive did in 
India we must know something of the condition of that country 
at the time of his arrival. It will be remembered that the desire 
to trade with India brought about the famous voyage of Colum- 
bus; but it was Yasco da Gama, not Columbus, who first sailed 
from Europe to India. Portugal, not Spain, received the first 
benefit resulting from the discovery of this new route. When 
da Gama returned to Portugal, the king was so delighted with 



ROBERT CLIVE. 233 

the exploit that he sought to honor not da Gama, but himself, 
by assuming the title of " Lord of the Conquest, Navigation, 
and Commerce of ^Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and China." 

It is stated that the profits of this first voyage of da Gama 
were sixty times the expenses. At the beginning of the sixteenth 
century the Portuguese were among the most enterprising people 
in the world, so it is not surprising that they should grasp this 
new opportunity for obtaining wealth. After opening the route 
to India, they kept it to themselves for nearly a hundred years, 
and thus controlled the trade between Europe and the East. A 
few years before the close of the century, however, Portugal was 
united with Spain, and after Sir Francis Drake destroyed the 
Spanish Armada, Portugal could no longer hold entire possession 
of the trade with India. At once the Dutch, the French, and 
the English opened up commerce with the East. 

At the time when Clive arrived in India, the English had no 
political control of the country. They had established trading- 
posts at a few places along the coast, the most important of which 
were Bombay on the west, Madras on the south, and Calcutta on 
the northeast coast. These trading-posts had but few buildings 
and were protected by small forts. The government of the coun- 
try was in the hands of native chiefs who were frequently at war 
with one another. 

A few miles south of Madras was the French trading-post of 
Pondicherry (Pon-di-sher'-f), fully as important and as strong 
as any one of the English posts. Dupleix (I)u'-pla'), the gov- 
ernor of Pondicherry, had more soldiers under his control than 
had the English, and he had also enrolled some of the natives 
among his troops. When war broke out in Europe between 
England and France, Dupleix immediately attacked Madras, and, 
as it had no regular garrison, easily captured it. The English 
captives were sent to Pondicherry, from which town a few, in- 
cluding Clive, escaped to Fort St. David, where for nearly two 



234 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



years they resisted every attack of the French. When a fleet 
and a small army arrived from England, the siege was raised 
and the English in turn besieged Pondicherry, until a storm 
scattered the fleet. A treaty between France and England was 




CLIVE LEADING A CHARGE IN INDIA. 



signed soon afterwards, and Madras was given back to the 
English. 

It was during the siege of Pondicherry that Clive first dis- 
tinguished himself as a soldier. After the treaty of peace he 
went back to the office to measure cloth and check accounts once 
more ; but the slight taste of military life made this work more 
than ever distasteful to him. He was glad of an opportunity 
to join Major Lawrence, who was sent to capture the fort and 



ROBERT CLIVE. 235 

lands of Devicotta (Devi-kot'-ta). Clive made the first charge in 
storming the fort at the head of some native troops and thirty- 
four English soldiers. The Sepoys, or natives, held back and 
twenty-six of the English were cut to pieces. Clive escaped, 
since he carried himself, as Major Lawrence said, " with a cool 
courage and a presence of mind which never left him in the 
greatest danger. He was born a soldier ; for, without a military 
education of any sort, or much conversation with any of the 
profession, from his judgment and good sense he led an army 
like an experienced officer and a brave soldier." 

The next duty assigned to Clive was to relieve Trichinopoli 
(Trich-in-op'-o-li), where a native prince was besieged by the 
French together with an allied native prince. Clive saw at once 
that he could be of no assistance at Trichinopoli, but he knew that 
Arcot (Ar-cot'), the capital of the native allies of the French, had 
been left with but small defenses. He hastened to Madras, ob- 
tained two hundred English troops and three hundred Sepoys, 
and at once set out on the sixty-mile journey to Arcot. A vio- 
lent thunderstorm came on just before his army reached Arcot. 
When the native, garrison learned that the storm of lightning, 
thunder, and rain had no terrors for the English, they immedi- 
ately fled in panic, and Clive entered the fort without opposition. 

The stratagem was successful. The French forces before 
Trichinopoli were weakened to besiege Arcot, and for fifty days 
Clive withstood one of the most memorable sieges in history. 
The fort was large and the soldiers were few ; the walls were in 
a ruinous condition and everything was unfavorable for a defense. 
Clive had but eighty English and one hundred and fifty Sepoys 
fit for duty to resist the attacks of more than six thousand native 
soldiers. The final assault was unsuccessful, and the next day 
the besieging army had entirely disappeared. One da}' later the 
relieving English army from Madras entered the fort. 

During the siege the stock of provisions became very low. 



236 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

When it was apparent that the English might be compelled to 
surrender because of hunger, the Sepoys in the garrison refused 
to eat the rice that was furnished them and demanded the water 
in which it was boiled. " It is sufficient," they said, " for our 
support. The Europeans require the grain." 

An expedition was fitted out for the relief of Trichinopoli with 
Major Lawrence in command. In spite of the opposition of reg- 
ular officers of higher rank, the second place was given to the 
young hero of Arcot. During this campaign, Clive increased his 
reputation as a courageous and foolhardy soldier. One night, 
as he lay asleep in a hut, he was completely surprised by an at- 
tack of the enemy. Soldiers stretched on the ground by his side 
were instantly killed, and Clive himself was seriously wounded. 
Springing from the hut, he found himself facing the muzzles 
of the enemy's guns ; then, pushing the guns aside, in a voice 
heard throughout the camp, he called on them to surrender, 
as they were surrounded. Encouraged by the boldness of their 
leader, the English and their Sepoy allies sprang to his rescue. 
The skirmish soon ceased, and in the morning a parley was 
agreed upon. 

At the conference, Clive stood leaning against the wall of a 
building, resting on the shoulders of two sergeants. A deserter 
from the English ranks suddenly pointed his gun at the wounded 
commander and fired. Clive escaped by a miracle ; both the 
sergeants fell mortally wounded. As a result of the parley, the 
leader of the attack surrendered his entire force. Soon after, 
the siege of Trichinopoli was raised. Clive's work as a soldier 
seemed over and he returned to England. 

The hero of Arcot received a hearty welcome. The directors 
of the East India Company entertained him, and " General " 
Clive was honored and feasted throughout the land. He spared 
no expense in returning these favors, and though he had consid- 
erable wealth when he left India, he soon found that he had spent 



ROBERT CLIVE. 



237 



it all. Accordingly he desired to return, and just as the Seven 
Years' War between France and England began, he received an 
appointment as governor of Fort St. David. 

Scarcely had the new governor arrived at Madras when terrible 
news came from Calcutta. The native prince, whose ancestors 
for centuries had ruled the region round Calcutta, had been 







THE RUCK UK TRICHINOI'OLI. 



growing more and more jealous of the English, and had at last 
decided that they must be driven from the country. Almost 
without warning he attacked and captured Calcutta. The garri- 
son was very small, and most of the women and children had 
taken refuge on the ships. When the garrison surrendered, 
there were only one hundred and forty-six prisoners, all wearied 
and most of them wounded. A prison cell, with two small iron- 
barred windows, was made in the fort by walling in a space 



238 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

eighteen feet square. Into this cell, "The Black Hole of Cal- 
cutta," the prisoners were driven at the point of the bayonet. 
The tale of their sufferings in this crowded cell is too terrible 
to repeat. In the morning twenty-three prisoners were taken 
out alive. 

Clive was immediately sent with a strong force to Calcutta. 
After a difficult sea voyage he landed at the wrong place. He was 
surprised by the Sepoys, who forced him into a battle ; but he 
succeeded in reaching Fort Budge, in the vicinity of Calcutta. 
This fort was shelled and breaches were made in the walls. Clive 
was intending to storm the fort in the morning, but the strange 
results of the freaks of a drunken soldier brought about its surren- 
der. This fellow in his drunken wanderings happened to stray 
into the fort, but he was not so drunk that he did not know where 
he was. Shouting, " Hurrah, the fort is ours," he called on his 
imaginary followers to enter. The garrison immediately fled in 
fear, leaving everything behind them, and the capture of Calcutta 
soon followed. 

The authorities of Madras requested Clive to bring back his 
arm}-, but he realized that it would be necessary to complete the 
conquest of Bengal (Ben-gal'), the region about Calcutta, if it were 
to remain an English possession. He knew that the Nawab, or 
native ruler, was treacherous and must be taught a lesson; so he 
declared war on the Nawab, and marched north to attack him. 

One of the Nawab's native enemies had sworn an alliance 
with the English, and Plassey (Plas'-I) had been assigned as the 
field where he should bring reinforcements. But the native 
ally held aloof, and did not appear as expected ; in fact, he pre- 
ferred to wait until the battle was over, in order that he might 
join the victorious side. Clive's position was a dangerous one. 
His force consisted of not more than thirty-two hundred men, 
less than a third of whom were English, while the Nawab com- 
manded thirty-five thousand infantry and fifteen thousand cav- 



ROBERT CLIVE. 



239 



airy. For the only time in his career Give held a council of war 
to determine whether or not to attack. Nine, including the 
commander, voted for delay, and seven for immediate attack. 
After the council, Clive spent an hour wandering through the 
woods by night. All the arguments for and against the battle 
passed through his mind, and he finally decided to change his 
decision and fight in the 
morning. 

He took his position in a 
mango grove, where his sol- 
diers were protected by trees 
and surrounding mud banks. 
Here he remained on the de- 
fensive. In the middle of 
the day a heavy shower of 
rain prevented the English 
from using their fire-locks, 
but the enemy did not take 
advantage of the" opportu- 
nity to make an attack. For 
hours the incessant fire from 
the Nawab's forces continued 
without effect. Soon after 
mid-day the firing slackened, and the English began to act on the 
offensive. Little by little they drove the enemy from position 
after position until they fled in confusion. Clive had won a 
remarkable battle ; he had defeated an .army more than fifteen 
times as large as his own. 

When the Duke of Wellington visited the battlefield of Plas- 
sey and carefully studied the positions of the English and their 
enemies, he did not hesitate to extol in the highest terms the 
military ability of the commanding officer. 

The battle of Plassey, though not one of the greatest battles 




INDIA IN THE TIME OF ROBERT CLIVE. 



240 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



in the world's history, was the turning point in the history of a 
great country. It laid the foundations of the British Indian em- 
pire of to-day. Step by step the English have extended their 
territory in India, until at present the whole peninsular acknowl- 
edges British supremacy, and Edward VII. is its emperor. 

Robert Clive had reached the highest point in his career. He 
had made many enemies, and he was never properly rewarded 
for his services. Though he was finally made Lord Clive, the 
honor was given grudgingly, and he was elevated to the lower 
order of the Irish, and not of the English, nobility. Disappointed 
at the ungratefulness of the English people, worn out with con- 
stant ill health, he died when less than fifty years of age. 

Describe Clive's life as a boy ; as a clerk at Madras. 
Show how Englishmen happened to be in India. 
Tell the story of Pondicherry ; of Arcot ; of Trichinopoli. 
(live an account of Clive's reception in England ; his return to India; 
his expedition to Calcutta ; his work in Bengal; the battle of Plassey. 

Why should Clive have been in debt because of the length of the 
voyage to India? What have always been the principal reasons for dis- 
covery and colonization? Is deception right in war and not in everyday 
life? Why should the English indifference to thunderstorms terrify the 
native troops? Is disobedience in battle a mark of courage? 




AN EAST INDIA STKAMSHIP. 




CHAPTER XXIV. 



Wellington 



1769-1852. 



The people of a barbarous nation do not have much to do 
with any other people. There is no reason why they should. 
Their wants are simple ; if they have plenty to eat, a shelter 
from rain and snow, and a fire to keep them warm, they need 
little more. All these necessities can be supplied within their own 
territory, and what goes on beyond its boundaries they little know 
or care. As they become more civilized their wants grow less 
simple. They find that their country cannot give them all they 
desire ; some other land makes finer cloth, grows a different food, 
has better fuel. Some of their products their neighbor requires, 
and in time trade is carried on between the two countries. As 
they are bound closer and closer together and both come in con- 
tact with still other lands, they discover that whatever disturbs 
them, disturbs their neighbor, and whatever affects their neigh- 
16 



242 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

bor, affects them. No nation "can live for itself alone." In 
illustration of this principle, we shall soon learn how a great 
upheaval in political affairs in France brought another war on 
England. 

France, unlike England, was an absolute monarchy. The 
people had no voice in the government, for the king's will was 
the only law of the land. Its court was the most brilliant, its 
nobles were the best dressed, and its women the wittiest in 
Europe. Immense sums of money were expended by the king, 
and the people were heavily taxed. This taxation was far differ- 
ent from that which England tried to force on the colonists in 
America, where it was levied on rich and poor alike. In France 
the common people — the peasant and the laborer — paid the 
biggest taxes. 

Finally the burden grew too heavy to be borne ; leaders came 
to the front and the people rebelled. At first they only demanded 
equal rights with the nobility and a share in the government. 
Later they rose against king and nobles and declared the country 
a republic. The people had had even less experience in control- 
ling themselves than in guiding the affairs of a nation; therefore 
they became worse tyrants than their old rulers. Their leaders 
had no principles, and continually urged the mob to do its worst. 
A " reign of terror " followed ; the king and queen were put to 
death, and hundreds of others were beheaded, some because they 
belonged to the nobility, and some because their wealth was 
coveted. A Paris mob ruled France, and no life or property was 
safe. Only when the people became tired of blood, and fire, and 
strife, did they listen to wiser councils. Then France was gov- 
erned according to law and justice. 

Frenchmen w T ere not content with straightening out their own 
tangles, but they began to consider themselves reformers and 
offered their soldiers to aid all peoples against their rulers. It was 
not long before Europe was in arms against them. England held 



WELLINGTON. 



243 



aloof for some time, for her people at first sympathized with the 
French in their efforts to obtain self-government. It was not 
until they had carried their freedom too far that sympathy turned 
to disgust and fear. Then England joined the other powers in 
the attempt to restore the old monarchy. 

The Allies had little success in their conflict with France, 
whose armies were led by 
Napoleon Bonaparte, a 
young Corsican. Not only 
had he taken the highest 
place in France, with a 
power as absolute as that 
of the king who had been 
put to death, but he had 
become the master of the 
most of Europe. French- 
men had ceased to be 
reformers ; more territory, 
more power, was the cease- 
less desire of the young 
Napoleon. He coveted 
English wealth and Eng- 
lish supremacy on the sea; 
but his plans to invade 
England were continually 
met by the problem of 
how to take his army 

across a channel guarded by English ships. " Let us be mas- 
ters of the Channel for six hours and we will be masters of 
the world," he is said to have exclaimed. 

Napoleon planned a scheme which, if it had been successful, 
would have given him his desire. He sent his fleet to the West 
Indies, hoping that the English admiral would follow; then while 




NAI'OI EON. 



244 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

the English were searching for them, the ships were to hurry back 
and guard the Channel while the French army crossed. The first 
part of the plan prospered, but when Admiral Nelson could not 
find the enemy, he, too, set sail with all haste for England. Me 
came upon the French fleet off Cape Trafalgar (Traf-al-gar'), on 
the southern coast of Spain. Lord Nelson's signal was, " England 
expects every man to do his duty," and every Englishman obeyed. 
Although Nelson was killed, his ships were victorious, and Eng- 
land was saved. William Pitt, the Younger, who was at the time 
prime minister, said, " England has saved herself by her courage; 
she will save Europe by her example." 

Europe, however, was in a sad plight; for Napoleon, if not 
successful on the sea, had continual victory on the land. The 
armies of Russia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, 
and Spain had surrendered to him. Not only was he Emperor 
of France, but members of his family occupied several thrones 
of Europe. The Spanish peasantry were the only people who 
resisted, but they gave the opportunity that England needed. 
An army was sent into the Spanish Peninsula, and from that 
time Napoleon's power began to wane. 

The English armies were commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley 
(Wel/.'le), afterward known as the Duke of Wellington. He was 
then a young officer who had had considerable experience in fight- 
ing the natives in India. He had been successful in his many 
conflicts, from the time when a schoolboy at Eton he had been 
victorious in a fight with a schoolmate. In India it was said 
that if ever he " has an opportunity to distinguish himself, he 
will do so, and greatly." 

Unlike Napoleon, Wellesley thought little of glory. When 
he had done his duty, " according to the best of my judgment," 
he cared " not either for the enemy in front or for anything they 
may say at home." " Some Frenchman," Wellington once re- 
marked, " has said that the word duty is to be found in every page 



WELLINGTON. 



245 



of my despatches, and the word glory not once. This is meant, 
I am told, as a reproach ; but the foolish fellow did not see that 
if mere glory had been my object, doing my duty must have been 
the means." 

Such was the general who was to break Napoleon's power 
completely. The French army in Spain far outnumbered the 
English with its Spanish 
and Portuguese allies. 
Wellington's campaign 
consisted in advancing, 
winning a victory, and 
retreating ; but in the end 
the French were driven 
from the peninsula. At 
the same time Napoleon 
was defeated by the Allies 
in Germany, and was 
obliged to abdicate the 
throne and go to the 
island of Elba, where he 
lived as a prisoner. 

One day he escaped, 
returned to France, re- 
sumed his title of emperor, 
and raised an army. All 
the European powers pre- 
pared to oppose him, and at Waterloo, near Brussels, they met. 
The Duke of Wellington commanded the army of the Allies, and 
the battle resulted in the complete defeat of Napoleon. Never 
again would he conquer the united armies of Europe. He was 
sent to the lonely island of St. Helena (He-le'-na), off the west 
coast of Africa, where he spent the rest of his life, a closely 
guarded prisoner. 




LORD NELSON. 



246 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



In this battle of Waterloo, when all his staff were killed or 
wounded, Wellington could not be persuaded to seek shelter. 
He seemed to have no fear. Not only did he direct the whole 
battle, but he led several charges, cheering the troops with his 
encouraging words. One of the commanders of the artillery came 




/■'yon the painting by Clennell. 

WELLINGTON LEADING Jill-: DECISIVE CHARGE A 1 WATERLOO. 

to him. saying that at last they had been able to train the 
guns on the clump of trees where Napoleon and his staff were 
standing. 

' If you will allow me, I think we can pick some of them 
off," he reported. 

" No. no. ' replied Wellington. " ( "ienerals-in-chief have some- 
thing to do in a great battle besides firing at each other." All 



WELLINGTON. 247 

this while bullets were continually falling about him, for the 
French gunners had observed his position. 

Thousands of soldiers were killed on each side. " Believe 
me," said Wellington, " nothing except a battle lost can be half 
so melancholy as a battle won. To win such a battle as this of 
Waterloo, at the expense of so many gallant friends, could only 
be termed a heavy misfortune, but for the result to the public. 
My heart is broken by the terrible loss sustained in my old 
friends and companions and my poor soldiers." 

While the list of the dead was read to him by his physician, 
" The Iron Duke," as he was called because his enemies thought 
he had no heart, sat on the edge of his cot, with his hands clasped 
and tears rolling down his cheeks. 

Wellington lived many years, one of the most honored men 
in England. He was made commander-in-chief of the army, 
was created a duke, was appointed to various cabinet positions, 
and for two years was prime minister. Notwithstanding his high 
position he ever retained his love for a simple life. lie never 
drank, he never smoked, ami his chamber was furnished no better 
than his tent on the field of battle — with a narrow iron bed, and 
with horsehair mattress and pillows. " Everything with him was 
simple, direct, straightforward." 

One other characteristic of the great duke is well worth imi- 
tating. He was never known to tell a falsehood ; his despatches 
to England from the field of battle could always be relied on as 
absolutely trustworthy. "The duke's whole existence was a 
practical refutation of all falsehood. This is high praise in an 
age like the present, when the great difficulty is to find persons 
uniformly speaking the truth." 

Tell the reasons for the French Revolution. 
Show how the Revolution troubled Europe. 

Tell the story of Napoleon's successes ; the plans to invade England ; 
the battle of Trafalgar ; Napoleon's final defeat. 



248 



FIRST STErS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



Explain how the English were finally drawn into another conflict with 
France. 

Illustrate by stories the character of Wellington. 

What nation in modern times has tried to " live for itself alone " ? 
What has been the result? Why did the English sympathize with. the 
French in their effort to win self-government ? Why did the excesses of 
the French Revolution produce fear in England ? What were two good 
points in Wellington's character ? What were some of the defects in 
Napoleon's character ? 




A SOLDIER AND A SAILOR, l8oO. 




CHAPTER XXV. 

William Wilberforce. 



1759-1833. 

We often hear elderly people speak of the " good old times," 
when they or their fathers were children. To some the days 
" when George the Third was king " were the best in the world's 
history; but to those who know the conditions of all classes of 
people during the last part of the eighteenth and the first part 
of the nineteenth centuries, it seems a marvel how any life could 
be happy in those days. It was a time of heavy taxation. The 
wars with America and with France were expensive, and every- 
thing was taxed. There were " taxes on every article that enters 
the mouth or covers the back, or is placed under the foot ; taxes 
on everything that is pleasant to feel, smell, or taste ; taxes upon 
the sauces which pamper man's appetite, and on the drug which 
restores him to health ; on the ermine which covers the judge, 
and on the rope which hangs the criminal ; on the poor man's 
salt, and on the rich man's spice; on the brass nails of the cof- 
fin, and the ribbons of the bride." Yet the rich lived in more 



250 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

comfort than at any previous time — they were better housed, 
better clothed, and had more variety of food ; but they were 
coarse in thought and speech, and the majority cared for little 
beyond their own pleasure. 

The poor were terribly oppressed. Many among the wealthy 
were kind-hearted and charitable, but no one thought to teach 
the poor to help themselves. The master had all the rights and 
the laborer none. Just before the beginning of the nineteenth 
century, people began to realize the evils about them. One 
reform followed another, until by the middle of the century the 
worst of these wrongs were remedied. Strangely, the first thing 
that attracted the sympathies of the benevolent was not the 
sorrows of the oppressed at home, but the condition of the slaves 
in the colonies. 

Since the time of Sir John Hawkins, English merchants had 
been engaged in the slave trade, first to supply the Spanish 
colonies in America, and afterward her own. Ships sailed from 
Liverpool and other ports to the African coast, where negroes 
captured in the interior were crowded into miserable quarters on 
board ship, and carried across the Atlantic. The cruelties prac- 
tised by the captors and the sufferings of the slaves were too 
horrible even to mention. "There is not a stone in Liverpool 
that is not cemented by the blood of Africans," said Cooke, a 
famous actor of the time. It must not be supposed that the 
English people were wholly indifferent to these evils. Even in 
the time of Elizabeth the trade was looked on with contempt 
and loathing, but all efforts to stop it came to nothing. That 
a bill abolishing the slave trade was finally passed in Parliament 
was due largely to the efforts of William Wilberforce. 

Wilberforce in early life would have been the last person to 
have thought of such matters. When he entered St. John's Col- 
lege he was wealthy in his own right, and he was immediately 
thrown among a wild set of students who drank much and lived 



WILLIAM WILBERFORCE. 



251 



badly. If Wilberforce attempted to study, they would say, " Why 
in the world should a man of your fortune trouble himself with 
fagging?" He broke with this set before he left college, but 
was obliged to work hard to make up for his idleness. He had a 
fine voice, was a witty conversationalist, and a great favorite 
in fashionable society. 

One winter, soon after entering Parliament, he went to Nice 
with his mother and a friend, Isaac Milner Before they started, 
he happened to pick up a new book, Doddridge's " Rise and 
Progress of Religion," 
and asked Milner what 
he thought of it. 

" It is one of the 
best books ever writ- 
ten," replied his friend ; 
" let us take it with us 
and read it on the jour- 
ney." 

The reading and the 
discussion of the book 
greatly impressed Wil- 
berforce. He became 
dissatisfied with the life he was leading and felt that he had wasted 
his talents. When he returned home, he had determined to de- 
vote himself to helping his fellow-men. His family, hearing of 
his change of life, thought he had gone mad, but when they 
saw him, his sweetness and kindness surprised them, and one 
of them said, " If this be madness, I hope it will bite us all." 

Among the many miseries that attracted his attention was 
the slave trade. He studied the subject carefully, and William 
Pitt, who was always his friend, urged him to bring up the sub- 
ject in Parliament. 

Meanwhile another man, Thomas Clarkson, had also been 




ST. JOHN 



COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 



252 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

making a thorough study of the slave trade. While he was in 
college, this topic had been given out as a subject for a thesis, — 
"Is it Right to Make Slaves of Others against their Will?" 
Clarkson had won a prize the year before and was anxious to 
win this one also, so he went to London and hunted up all the 
material he could find. He was distressed at the horrors that 
were revealed, and having won the prize, he devoted himself to 
agitating against the trade. 

He was unwilling to accept the common stories, that slaves 
were kidnapped in the interior of Africa, without a thorough 
investigation. He could not go to Africa himself, but a gentle- 
man had told him that once he had met a sailor who had made 
several trips into the interior. What his name was and from 
what port he sailed he did not know. To search for him was 
like hunting for the needle in a haystack, but Clarkson deter- 
mined to visit the various ports of England in the hope that, if 
he could not discover this particular sailor, he could find some- 
one who had been to Africa. 

" At length," he writes, " I arrived at the place of my last 
hope [Plymouth]. On my first day's expedition 1 boarded fifty 
vessels, but found no one who had been on the coast of Africa in 
the slave trade. One or two had been there in the king's ships, 
but they had never been ashore. The next morning I felt 
agitated between the alternate pressure of hope and fear ; and in 
this state I entered my boat. The fifty-seventh vessel I boarded 
was the Melampus frigate. One person belonging on it, on 
examination in the captain's cabin, said he had been on two 
voyages to Africa, and I had not long conversed with him before 
I found that he was the man." 

Clarkson was introduced to Wilberforce, and they worked 
together for a common purpose. A society was formed, and 
a bill for the total abolition of the slave trade was brought up 
in Parliament, with Wilberforce as the leader. William Pitt, 



WILLIAM WILBERFORCE. 253 

Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, and many other well-known 
statesmen spoke strongly in favor of the bill. It was soon dis- 
covered that the fortunes of many people were connected with 
the traffic. Year after year the debate ran on, until twenty 
years had passed before the bill became a law. 

Although the slave trade was stopped, it was seen that the 
condition of the negroes who were already slaves was not im- 
proved. Terrible stories of the flogging and branding of slaves 
in the Indies were current, and most of them, on examination, were 
found to be true. Those who had worked for the abolishment of 
the slave trade, now began to agitate for the complete emancipation 
of the slaves. This caused even greater opposition, if possible. 
Many members of Parliament had large plantations in the West 
Indies. It was generally thought that no white man could stand 
hard labor under a tropical sun, and that if the negroes were freed, 
they would refuse to work and the islands would go to waste. 
People who had no special property interests could not understand 
the motives that influenced the Abolitionists, and agreed with 
Charles Greville, who in his " Journal " wrote : " Of all political 
feelings and passions — and such this rage for emancipation is — it 
has always struck me as the most extraordinary and remarkable." 
The king was greatly opposed to the movement. Yet notwith- 
standing all the exertions of the planters and their friends, the 
emancipation bill was passed, and about eight hundred thousand 
slaves were made free. 

The news was received in the islands with great fear, for the 
planters expected that the negroes would rise and destroy all the 
whites. The day before the bill went into effect, several Ameri- 
can vessels that had been anchored in the harbor of Antigua (An- 
te'-gwa) sailed away. Many people refused to go to bed, " awaiting 
with fluttering pulse the hour of midnight, fearing that the bell 
which sounded the jubilee of the slaves might toll the death knell 
of the master." England's example has been followed by all 



254 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



civilized countries, for it is acknowledged that slavery degrades 
not only the slave, but the master as well. 

The opposition to the emancipation bill brought forward an 
argument that could not be overlooked by the philanthropists of 
the early nineteenth century. " Look at home ! " people said. 
" Don't you know that there is white slavery as well as black- 
slavery ? The black slaves in 
the West Indies are better 
fed and cared for than the 
white slaves in the factories 
and mines." 

The excessive taxations and 
the wars had brought great suf- 
fering to the poor. The prices 
of everything had increased, and 
the wages of workingmen had 
not. Their families were large, 
and it was a difficult matter to 
feed and clothe a large family 
on less than three dollars a week. 
Consequently, even little chil- 
dren were sent to work in the 
new factories that were so 
rapidly springing up in all parts 
of England, in order that their small earnings might be added 
to the family purse. It is said that more than half the hands in 
the cotton factories were under eighteen years of age. The times 
were brutal. The employers hardly considered those in their 
employ as human beings, and the terrible struggle for bread often 
destroyed parental love. Each child was only another wage- 
earner, and babies almost were sent out barefooted at half past 
five in the morning, to return in the evening so tired that only 
torture could make them wake the next morninsr. Often the 




CHIMNEY SWEEPS. 



WILLIAM WILBERFORCE. 255 

hands worked fourteen and sixteen hours a day for miserably 
small wages. 

At the time of the debate in Parliament, this story was pub- 
lished in the " London Times " : " Many times of an evening when 
I have passed on from child to child in a woolen mill, each has 
turned up its little face and anxiously inquired, 'What o'clock 
is 't ? ' 

" I have answered, ' Seven.' 

" ' Seven ' ? was the rejoinder. ' Why, it's three hours to ten, 
isn't it ? We moant gee up till ten and past.' " 

The factory hands were not the only sufferers. In the mines 
the conditions were, if possible, still worse. There women and 
children crawled back and forth on hands and knees fourteen 
hours a day, in the dark, dirt)- coal seams, dragging loaded and 
empty cars attached by a long chain to a belt bound about the 
waist. Even children of four worked in seams too narrow for 
grown people. 

Little children were apprenticed to chimney sweeps, and their 
sufferings were equally great. Chimneys were high and narrow, 
and when filled with soot, would not draw. Then a sweep 
would be called in to clean the chimney by brushing down the 
soot as he ascended. No ladders were built inside, and the little 
fellow must climb over the rough stones and bricks by his knees 
and elbows. When he reached the top he cried out, "Sweep 1 
sweep!" so that the master might know that the work was 
done. 

One at a time these evils were stopped. All women and 
children were forbidden to work in the mines; hours of work in 
the factories were shortened, and climbing boys could not be 
employed by chimney sweeps. Each reform was unpopular 
among the employers and the employed, but the nation had 
awakened to the fact that even parents could not be allowed 
to do what they pleased with their own children. 



256 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



This unnatural work made the people ignorant, and ignorance 
makes crime. The authorities knew no better way to stop crime 
than to punish. The smallest wrongdoing had a penalty wholly 
out of proportion to the offense. One writer has said that Eng- 
land's criminal laws would be a disgrace to barbarism. One hun- 
dred and sixty different crimes were punishable by death. If a boy 




From the painting by Barrett. 

MRS. FRY READING TO I 111 PRISONERS IN NEWGATE. 

stole from a shop five shillings' worth of goods, he could be sent 
to the gallows. Men were hung for stealing fish, for cutting 
grapevines, and for breaking trees. Punishment was not long 
delayed, and the criminal was not allowed the help of lawyers. 
If one was unjustly executed, as would sometimes happen, his 
friends were told that " he who tails by a mistaken sentence 
may be considered as falling for his country." 



WILLIAM WILBERFORCE. 257 

Though the laws were not always wholly carried out, they 
were not repealed. Judges considered that people would be kept 
from crime if they knew that a severe punishment might follow 
wrongdoing. Consequently wickedness, instead of decreasing, in- 
creased. Sir Samuel Romilly (Rom'-il-i), who began the agitation, 
and others who took up the work after his death, worked for years 
before they could make Parliament see the necessity for reform 
in the criminal code ; but finally the death penalty was removed 
from all crimes but that of murder. 

Meanwhile the prisons needed attention. Prisoners of all 
classes — the debtor, the murderer, the thief, and others — were 
confined together, and no provision was made to make them 
better or to keep them busy. Idleness is good for no one, 
and the prisoners, when released, were probably worse than 
when first imprisoned. Mrs. Elizabeth Fry begged permission 
from those in authority to help and give employment to the 
women of Newgate Prison. The officials tried to persuade 
her that "her efforts would be utterly fruitless"; that there 
was no room where she could start a school for the children, 
and that whatever work the women could be induced to do 
would be stolen. She would not be thus discouraged, and 
with some friends she lived almost wholly at the prison. The 
children were taught, the women were given work, and in an 
incredibly short time a great transformation took place. The 
women grew gentler, their language better, and their thoughts 
purer. The authorities saw the wisdom of her plan, and the 
good work was carried to other prisons of England, and to 
other countries. 

By the heroic and self-sacrificing efforts of these and other 
noble men and women, the English people were taught their 
responsibility to their humble and suffering brothers and sisters. 
Never again could the nation be completely indifferent to their 
wrongs. 

17 



258 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



Contrast the English with the French method of taxation. 

Describe Wilberforce's early life ; his change of opinions. 

Tell the story of Thomas Clarkson. 

Give an account of the stopping of the slave trade : of the abolish- 
ment of slavery. 

Describe the condition of the factory hands ; of the miners ; of the 
chimney sweeps. 

Describe the criminal laws ; the prisons. 

Why do the old days often seem to be the best days ? How does the 
present compare with the past ? What were some of the reasons for the 
indifference to suffering? What had become of the old Saxon belief in 
the rights of the individual man ? What is the lot of all reformers? Why 
may a severe law unenforced be worse than no law at all ? 










A KING S SHIP CHASING A SLAVER. 




bawiizl o'ie©wwsiL,iu 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



1 -. ' ad 

■■*■; ft! 



Daniel O'Connell. 

1775-1847. 

It is necessary to go back man}- hundred years in order 
to understand the life of Daniel O'Connell and the work that 
he did for Ireland. The English and the Irish belonged to 
two separate races. The Irish were Celts iSeltsi, and were a 
part of the same great family as the Scots and the ancient Brit- 
ons. In England the Celts had been either killed or driven into 
Wales, and their places had been taken by a very different peo- 
ple — the Teutons. This race had never conquered Ireland, and 
though they were close neighbors they had very little acquaint- 
ance with the inhabitants of the island across the Irish Sea. 
Both peoples had become Christianized, but otherwise they had 
little in common. The Teutons came in contact with the more 
civilized countries of southern Europe; their manners grew gen- 



260 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

tier, they thought more of peace and less of war, and they became 
one nation. The people of Ireland had almost no communication 
with other lands ; they were divided into wild, warring tribes, and 
retained many of the rude customs of their barbarous ancestors. 

When Henry II. was king, the Pope, who was an Englishman, 
gave Ireland to England. He claimed this right, because to him, 
as the head of the Church, belonged "all islands" that had re- 
ceived " the teachings of the holy faith." This unasked-for gift 
brought to England much trouble and perplexity, and to Ireland 
unhappiness and discontent. 

The English paid little attention to Ireland until the time 
of Henry VIII. A few Englishmen had settled there, but they 
held almost no intercourse with the Irish. Each people lived its 
own life. When England became Protestant, Elizabeth deter- 
mined that Ireland, too, should become Protestant. She advised, 
however, that " the people who had been trained in another 
religion " should not be forced " too hastily " into the new ; but 
the zeal of her ministers overcame the wisdom of the queen. The 
Irish were compelled to close their churches. The}' hated the Eng- 
lish bishops sent to Ireland, burned the houses over their heads, 
and made it unsafe for them to travel. Even Bishop Staples, 
who had been much beloved before he became a Protestant, was 
urged by one of his former priests not to go to one of the out- 
lying districts to present the new form of worship. " Ye were 
the best beloved man in your diocese," he said ; " now ye are the 
worst beloved. . . . The country folks would eat you. . . . Ye 
have more curses than ye have hairs of your head." Wandering 
friars went from hamlet to hamlet encouraging the cottagers to 
remain true to the Catholic faith. 

A terrible revolution naturally broke out, and it was put 
down with a cruel hand. Englishmen settled in Ireland and 
took away the land from its owners ; they looked down upon the 
Irish as an inferior people and treated them as little better than 



DANIEL O CONNELL. 



26l 



slaves. As years went on, conditions grew worse rather than 
better. We might expect that a nation which had continually 
struggled with kings for the rights of the common people would 
have some sympathy for the oppressed Catholics, but in those 
days few acknowledged the right of religious freedom. Catholics 
believed that no one could be a Christian who was not a Catholic; 
Episcopalians thought every one should be a member of the 
Established Church ; and Puritans, who had struggled against 
both Catholics and Episcopalians, considered the Puritan faith 
the only true faith. 
Even now we are only 
beginning to learn that 
a member of any 
church can be a Chris- 
tian, and that every 
man should have the 
privilege to worship as 
he thinks right. Daniel 
O'Connell himself once 
urged: "Every reli- 
gion is good — every 
religion is true to him 

who in his due caution and conscience believes it. There is but 
one bad religion, that of a man who professes a faith which he 
does not believe." 

Very severe laws were passed against this rebellious people. 
Though over three-fourths of the inhabitants of Ireland were 
Catholics, they were not allowed one representative in the Irish 
Parliament. A Protestant whose father was a Catholic could 
take all the family property and make the father a tenant ; if a 
Catholic had a good horse, his Protestant neighbor could claim it 
by offering five pounds ; if he leased a piece of land and a Prot- 
estant wanted it, he had to pack up his goods and move. No 




AN IRISH PEASANT S HOME. 



262 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Papist could teach any child not his own ; no priest could con- 
vert a Protestant without being imprisoned, and if he married a 
Catholic to a Protestant he was to be hanged. 

Irish trade, too, was taken away. Cattle could not be sent to 
England for fear Englishmen might not sell their own beef and 
mutton ; woolen goods could not be exported because English- 
men might have less sale for their manufactures. With their 
land gone, with trade forbidden, is it any wonder that the Irish 
became poor, sullen, and unruly? It was said that "Ireland was 
the least law-abiding country in Europe." 

By the end of the eighteenth century the worst of these laws 
had been repealed, but there was still so much dissatisfaction in 
Ireland that William Pitt decided that the easiest way to put an 
end to the difficulties was to abolish the Irish Parliament. Since 
the first year of the nineteenth century there has been but one 
Parliament for England, Scotland, and Ireland. The question, 
however, seemed no nearer to being solved than before, for the 
Catholics had no more representatives in the Parliament that met 
at London than they had in the Parliament at Dublin. Still they 
were not united in their demands for Catholic representation, 
and their requests received little attention in England. 

Finally, an Irish lawyer, Daniel O'Connell, perceived that if 
he could unite all the Irish Catholics, they could send to Par- 
liament a demand from the whole nation that must be heeded. 
No better leader could have been found. O'Connell had great 
tact and understood men thoroughly. He knew who could be 
easily influenced by flattery, who could be moved by fright, and 
who by love. 1 1 is wit and skill in debate won the admiration of 
the Irish peasantry, and having early gained the help and good- 
will of the priests, he step by step brought the Catholics into one 
great association. 

Parliament could not find any fault with the meetings of the 
Catholic Association. O'Connell ever urged the people not to 



DANIEL O CONNELL. 



263 



take up arms. He knew their cause would be completely lost 
the moment they became warlike ; nothing could be gained 
except by peaceful agitation. In 
later years he made many ene- 
mies by adhering to this policy, 
and his opponents declared that 
next to Great Britain he was the 
worst enemy Ireland ever had. 
But England would never have 
yielded to the demand for rep- 
resentation if O'Connell had not 
kept the Irish within bounds by 
his firm stand that " no politi- 
cal change is worth a drop of 
blood." 

Finally Parliament realized 
that it must listen to a united 
people. While the Duke of 
Wellington was prime minister, a 
bill admitting Catholics to the House of Commons was proposed 
and carried, in 1830. This is the tenth great date in English his- 
tory — the beginning of true religious freedom. A few years later, 
Jews were admitted to Parliament, and no longer did a man's 
religion keep him from his rightful place among the lawmakers 
of the kingdom. 

King George IV. at first refused to sign the act, but when 
the wisdom of making the bill a law was urged upon him, he re- 
luctantly added his name, saying ungraciously, " The Duke of 
Wellington is king of England, O'Connell is king of Ireland, and 
I suppose that I am only Dean of Windsor." 

Meanwhile, in expectation of this event, < >'Connell had been 
elected as the first Catholic member of the House of Commons 
from Ireland. When he took his seat, a great throng was present. 




GEORGE IV. 



264 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



Some evidently expected to see an uncouth barbarian ; others 
were curious to see the man who, single-handed, had united a 
nation and won over a hostile government. His position was 
not an easy one. The king hated him, and Englishmen snubbed 
him, even though they acknowledged his ability. 




THE TRIAL OF CONNELL. 



In Ireland he was called the "Liberator." The people loved 
and revered him ; all wanted to shake his hand or draw his car- 
riage. While riding in one of the processions after his election, 
he was met by a military detachment. As it passed the carriage, 
a young Irish sergeant left his men and asked to shake O'Con- 
nell's hand. " In acting as I do now," he said, " I am guilty of 
infringing military discipline. Perhaps I may be flogged for 
it, but I don't care. Let them punish me in any way they 
please ; let them flog me and send me to the ranks. I have 



DANIEL O'CONNELL. 265 

had the satisfaction of shaking the hand of the father of my 
country." 

The admission of the Catholics to Parliament by no means 
put an end to all the Irish grievances. The people were still 
miserably poor ; the land was owned by the great estates ; the 
Protestants had more rights, and, above all, the Catholics con- 
tinued to pay the hated tithes for the support of the Established 
Church. They began to ask for Home Rule — that is, they wanted 
back the separate Irish Parliament, which they hoped would 
make more equal the conditions of rich and poor. 

At this crisis, O'Connell brought to life the old Catholic Asso- 
ciation ; he regained his influence over the people and kept them 
from bloodshed. " He who commits a crime adds strength to 
his enemies," he constantly urged. Immense meetings were held, 
and perfect order prevailed. At one of these meetings, which 
took place at the " Tarah of the Kings," where in olden times 
the Irish chiefs were crowned, over a hundred thousand are said 
to have been present. The people gathered early ; the priests, 
moving from place to place, gave their blessing, and the music of 
the mass ascended with the smoke of incense. When O'Connell 
began to speak, there was perfect silence. As he proceeded, the 
throng cheered or laughed or wept as he played upon its sym- 
pathies. 

" To the last verge of that vast audience sent, 

It played with each wild passion as it went ; 

Now stirred the uproar — now the murmur stilled, 

And sobs ami laughter answered it at will. 

Then did 1 know the spell of infinite choice 

To rouse or lull has the sweet human voice." 

O'Connell said that he would never have dared to hold these 
immense meetings if he had not had " teetotalism for his police- 
man." At this time Father Matthew was carrying on his crusade 
against the drink habit. As a part of his work as parish priest 



266 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

in Cork, he started a temperance campaign which was extended 
to other cities of Ireland, to England, and even to America. This 
helped to bring about a great decrease of lawlessness and crime, 
and so great was Father Matthew's success that superstitious 
people claimed that he received miraculous help from Heaven. 
So it was that, for a time, " teetotalism was nearly as popular 
as repeal." 

The English Government became alarmed by these great 
gatherings. Troops were sent to Ireland, the meetings were for- 
bidden, and O'Connell was arrested and held for trial. He was 
sentenced to two years' imprisonment and a heavy fine, though 
it could not be proved that he had urged the Irish to rebellion. 
Parliament saw the unfairness of the verdict, and set it aside. 
When the news reached Ireland that O'Connell had been liber- 
ated, bonfires were lighted from sea to sea. During his short im- 
prisonment, however, the younger Irishmen had taken control of 
affairs, ami many were the controversies and even feuds between 
those who advocated and those who opposed violent measures. 
O'Connell was supported by most of the Irish clergy, but his 
power was gone. lie was an old man; his health broke down, 
and he died soon after in Italy. At his funeral these words 
were spoken : 

" Never yet felt a sovereign toward his people, or a general 
toward his army, or a ruler for his subjects, or a pastor for his 
flock, nay, or a father for his children, more deeply solicitous, 
more tender or more generous than Daniel O'Connell for his 
beloved countrymen. He loved but them. For them only he 
lived." 

After his death the Irish were led by men either unable to 
control the people or unwilling to keep them from bloodshed. 
Much trouble and many misunderstandings followed, for which 
neither Celts nor Teutons were alone responsible. After years of 
constant discussion, Parliament passed a Land Act that lessened 



DANIEL O CONNELI, 



267 



the hardships of the tenants and removed many causes of irrita- 
tion, but the demand for Home Rule continues to disturb Parlia- 
ment even to the present time. 

Contrast the Celts and the Teutons. 

Show how England came to own Ireland ; how England attempted 
to force Protestantism upon the Irish; the result. 

State some of the laws passed against the Irish Catholics. 

Give an account of O'ConnelPs agitation ; its success ; the demand 
for Home Rule. 

Describe the great mass meeting at the " Tarah of the Kings." 

What are some of the reasons for the friction between the English 
and the Irish ? How was the method of Parliament the worst possible way 
to make Protestants of the Irish? What was the secret of Daniel O'Con- 
nell's influence? What are the first nine great dates in English history? 




THE BANNER OF THE ROYAL ARMS. 

As borne since 1837. 




CHAPTER XXVII. 

Robert Peel. 

1788-1850. 

ABOUT the middle of the eighteenth century an English yeo- 
man was experimenting with calico-weaving in a farmhouse in 
Lancashire. Machinery had recently been invented that made 
possible the weaving of cotton into cloth, and he was trying 
various schemes to make this cloth more salable. The goods 
called calico were far from pretty, for the color was either a dirty 
white or some dull shade without figures. No one who dressed 
well would wear these homely cottons. 

This yeoman had already discovered that figures could be 
printed on cloth, when one day his daughter came in from the 
garden with a parsley leaf in her hand. She suggested that it 
would make a good pattern, and her father, after a little hesita- 
tion, told her that he would try it. A small block of wood was 
found, and with his knife he carved the design of a parsley leaf. 
On the kitchen table he laid a blanket and above it placed a 
piece of white cotton. Then having dampened his carved block 



ROBERT PEEL. 



269 



of wood with green dye, he brought it squarely down on the 
cloth, struck it a quick blow with a mallet, and lifted it. On the 
white surface was a perfect representation of a parsley leaf. With 
great patience he continued this process until the whole cloth was 
covered. His neighbors who saw it bought some ; their friends 
wanted more ; and the whole family was kept busy from morning 
until night printing and ironing out the new cottons. Orders 
came in faster than they could be filled. In time machinery was 
invented to take the 
place of the slow hand 
work, and a factory was 
built that employed 
many families. 

This clever yeoman 
was named Robert Peel. 
When he was a boy he 
spelled his family name 
with an c at the end, but 
after he grew up he 
dropped this final letter 
of his name " because it 
was no use at all, as it 
did not add to the 
sound." The Peels, for many years leaders in England, were 
always proud of their free yeoman blood, and the elder Peel re- 
sented attempts to honor him because of his increasing prosperity 
and influence. Once, it is told, when he received a letter addressed 
to " Robert Peel, Esq.," he exclaimed, " a pretty esquire, truly ! " 

Robert Peel had a son, also Robert Peel, who went into his 
father's business and made a great fortune. When funds were 
being raised for the war with I- ranee he subscribed ten thousand 
pounds. Already a member of the House of Commons, he was 
made a baronet by the king as a reward for this great gift. Sir 




STAMPING CA1 [C< >. 



270 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

Robert Peel was an admirer of the younger William Pitt, and he 
longed greatly for a son who might be a successor to this states- 
man. When his son was born, it is said that the father fell on 
his knees and vowed that he would give his child to his country. 
From babyhood the boy was trained with the prime ministership 
in view, and, as a result, he grew up different from other boys, 
lie disliked their rough play, and would "walk a mile round 
rather than encounter the rude jests of the Berry lads." At 
school he " never got into scrapes and always knew his lessons." 
When he left Oxford he was graduated at the head of his class, 
and immediately was elected a member of the House of Com- 
mons. He held one high office after another, until his father's 
ambition was realized and he became prime minister. 

Robert Peel, when he entered public life, was a Tory, as his 
father had been before him. lie considered it his duty to retain 
the old methods and the old theories as long as possible. But as 
he studied national life closely, and saw how the ancient laws 
oppressed the English people, he grew gradually away from the 
principles of his part}'. Through his influence, reform after re- 
form was made by Parliament. Though the leaders of the Tories 
scoffed at him and called him traitor and turncoat, he continually 
upheld the cause of truth and right. Thereby he won the respect 
and love of the nation. 

When he was home secretary, he established a new police sys- 
tem for London. The old constables, who were supposed to look 
out for life and property, were practically useless. Frequently, 
like the police of Edinburgh described by Sir Walter Scott, they 
were soldiers too old and infirm to serve in the army, and were 
more often squabbling with the boys and the rabble than catching 
thieves. Under the new system, the inhabitants of London ex- 
pected their liberties to be taken away, and members of Parliament 
severely attacked the reform. The streets rang with " Down 
with the new police," and derisive cries of " Peelers " and " Bob- 



ROBERT PEEL. 2JI 

bies " greeted the force ; but London soon found that Robert 
Peel had given them greater freedom and more safety at home 
and on the street. 

Although the people were supposed to be, through the House 
of Commons, the real governing power of England, they were far 
from being fairly represented. England had greatly changed since 
the members were proportioned among the towns and counties. 
Some towns, like Old Sarum, had hardly a single inhabitant, and 
were still entitled to two members in the House, while large cities 
like Manchester and Birmingham had none. The country people 
and the landholders were represented, but the shopkeepers and 
the townsmen were not. 

A bill was brought before Parliament to make more fair the 
representation in the House of Commons. The Tories and the 
House of Lords were set against it. Even Wellington believed 
that if the bill were passed "the poor would seize the property of 
the rich and divide it amongst themselves." The bill failed to 
become a law, and a great commotion resulted in all the large 
towns. Immense meetings wire held, riots followed, demands 
for " the bill, the whole bill, ami nothing but the bill," were loudly 
called, and the country seemed to be on the verge of a revolution. 
In the midst of this disturbance the cholera broke out. The clergy, 
who were opposed to the bill, proclaimed that the plague was 
a "judgment," because an attempt had been made to "med- 
dle with old institutions." Probably the other side considered 
it a judgment because Parliament had refused to grant needed 
reform. 

Peel, at the beginning of the agitation, had, with the other 
Tories, been opposed to the change; but now, with his usual far- 
sightedness, he saw that the demand must be met or civil war 
would follow. The Duke of Wellington, who declared that he 
had seen enough of war in his time, and " would have noth- 
ing to do with civil war anyhow," changed his stand. The bill 



2/2 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



went t h r o u g h 
both Houses, and 
the tumult was 
stopped. Thus all 
classes received 
the franchise, or 
voting privilege. 

A few years 
afterwards, King 
William IV. died. 
The heir was a 
young girl, Vic- 
toria, the daughter 
of his brother, the 
Duke of Kent. 
The accession to 
the throne of this 
noble woman in 
1837 was tne be- 
ginning of a new 
era. This is the 
eleventh great 
date in English 
history. 

At five in the 
morning the Arch- 
bishop of Canter- 
bury and the Lord Chamberlain reached Kensington Palace with 
the news of the old king's death. After great effort they suc- 
ceeded in gaining admission, but even then could hardly persuade 
the attendants to disturb the " sweet sleep " of the Princess. She 
did not keep them waiting, but came to them with a shawl thrown 
over her nisfht clothes and her hair flowinir about her shoulders. 




From the pi 



■ :>■ George Hayter. 
VICTORIA TAKING THE OATH. 



ROBERT PEEL. 273 

Though only eighteen, she presided over the meeting of the 
council the next day with great self-possession and dignity that 
won the admiration of the old statesmen. Her tact and kindness 
gave her the love of the people — a love which she never lost, 
though she remained on the throne longer than any other ruler 
in English history. 

England for a long time " protected " her farmers and manu- 
facturers — that is, she placed duties on foreign goods brought 
into the country, so as to give all the profits of trade to English- 
men. Early in the century such high duties were placed on corn 
as to stop absolutely the importation of food stuffs. We must 
not give to the word "corn" the American meaning — Indian 
corn — for in England the word is applied to wheat, barley, rye, 
and other grain products. Until recently, Indian corn has been 
very little used in any European country. 

England was a small country, and her population was rapidly 
increasing. In a good year the farmers might raise enough to 
supply all classes, but every year is not a good year. Too much 
rain or too little rain, too great heat or too much cold, and 
various other causes would diminish or even nearly destroy the 
crops. Then prices would be so high that the poor must go with- 
out bread; for no grain could be imported until the price of the 
home supply had reached a high figure. 

A cry for a reduction in the price of corn began to be heard 
from the great towns. Naturally, the farmers and the land- 
owners were anxious to keep out the foreign grains, and they 
fought against any change in the duties. They failed to see that 
what was for the good of the entire nation would be a help to 
them also. In time a change was made in the duties whereby, 
if the price of corn was low, the duty would be high, and if the 
home supply was short, the duty would be lowered. This helped 
in a measure, but even in a good year there was great suffering 
among the laboring classes. 
iS 



274 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

A young man named Richard Cobden took up the cause of 
the starving thousands and began to work for the repeal of the 
corn laws. He had traveled much, and had thought more, and 
his winning manner made many friends. A beautiful story is 
told of how he gained the support of John Bright. Mr. Bright's 
young wife had just died, and he was bowed down with grief. 
Mr. Cobden called to express his sympathy, and suddenly said : 

"There are hundreds and thousands of homes in England at 
this moment where wives and mothers and children are dying of 
hunger. Now, when the first paroxysm of your grief is passed, 
1 would advise you to come with me, and we will never rest until 
the corn laws are repealed." 

From that time the two worked together for the relief of the 
suffering. 

When Robert Peel became prime minister of England, he 
fully expected to uphold the corn laws. He really believed in 
free trade, but he was not ready to apply it to agricultural 
products. He felt that if England must depend on other coun- 
tries for her food, in time of war the people would be completely 
shut off from a food supply. There was much truth in this rea- 
soning, but even in peace the farmers were unable to supply 
sufficient grain, and the people were starving. Laborers received 
only seven shillings a week ; and how could they provide their 
large families with food? "Children would jump across the 
house if they saw a couple of potatoes, and quarrel which should 
have them." Atone of the great meetings a laborer stood up, 
showing by his extreme thinness the truth of his words as he 
said: " I be protected, and I be starving." 

The Irish, especially in the southern part of the island, lived 
almost wholly on potatoes, which were easily raised, required no 
storage (as they could be dug when needed), and were cheap. It 
is said that "whole generations grew up, lived, married, and 
passed away, without ewer having tasted flesh meat." When it 



ROBERT PEEL 



275 



was found, after a long season of rain and cloud, that the whole 
potato crop was spoiled, terrible suffering followed. The people 
died by hundreds of thousands, until whole villages were emptied 
and no one was left to bury the dead. 

Sir Robert called his council together, showed them the con- 
dition of Ireland, and told them that the ports must be opened 
to the free admission of corn. They feared that if the ports were 




AN ENGLISH COUNTRY HOME. 



once opened they could not be closed, and refused to agree to 
his suggestion. Peel resigned, but the queen called him back 
to his office. "So far from taking leave of you. Sir Robert," 
she said, " I must require you to withdraw your resignation and 
remain in my service." 

When the bill for the abolition of the corn laws came before 
Parliament, the fight was long and hard. After the bill had 
been presented by Sir Robert, Mr. Disraeli (Diz-ra'-li), the leader 
of the Tories, made a stinging opposition speech, in which he 
held up Peel's changes of opinion to sarcastic ridicule. The 



276 FIRST STEPS IX THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

excitement was great and the opposition was determined, but 
the bill went through, and Peel won one of the greatest vic- 
tories that had ever come to a statesman. 

Peel did not live many years after this. One day, while he 
was riding, his horse shied, stumbled, and fell. He was thrown 
under the horse, and was so severely injured that he died in 
a few days. 

In his speech, when he resigned his office of prime minister, 
Peel said : 

" I shall leave a name execrated by every monopolist who, from 
less honorable motives, clamors for protection because it con- 
duces to his own individual benefit ; but it may be that I shall 
leave a name sometimes remembered with expressions of good- 
will in the abodes of those whose lot it is to earn their daily 
bread with the sweat of their brow, when they shall recruit their 
exhausted strength with abundant and untaxed food, the sweeter 
because it is no longer leavened with a sense of injustice." 

The whole nation, from the queen to the humblest laborer, 
mourned for him as for a friend. Even his political enemies 
acknowledged the great courage of the man who could put 
right before party, and agreed with the Duke of Wellington, 
who said : 

" I have newer known a man in whose truth and justice I had 
a more lively confidence, or in whom I saw a more invariable 
desire to promote the public service. ... I newer knew an 
instance in which he did not show the strongest attachment to 
truth. I newer saw in the whole course of my life the smallest 
reason for suspecting that he stated anything that he did not 
fully believe to be the fact." At another time he called Sir 
Robert Peel " the truest man I have ever known." 

Tell the storv of the invention of calico-printing. 

State what hopes Sir Robert Peel had for his hoy, and how they 
affected his life. 



ROBERT PEEL. 



277 



(live an account of the public life of Sir Robert Peel ; his first reform ; 
his work for fairer representation ; his great victory. 

Tell the story of the accession of Queen Victoria ; of Richard 
Cobden. 

What were some of the characteristics of Robert Peel? How does a 
man show great courage by acting contrary to the opinions of his party ? 
Is it a sign of weakness for a statesman to change his mind ? What is the 
tenth great date in English history ? Is it possible to make any law that 
will not burden some people ? 




1 Hi BIR I HI 1 A.CE Of SIR ROBER 1 PEE] , SR 







TO 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



William Ewart Gladstone. 



1809-1898. 
William Ewart Gladstone was a friend and pupil of Sir 

Robert Peel, lie held his first office under Peel, and had many 
of the characteristics of his master. Each had ;i father who had 
made a great fortune, and each was an able financier. Each 
entered Parliament at an early age ; each was expected by his 
friends and associates to take a high place in the government of 
the nation, and each refused rank and honors from his sovereign. 
Gladstone, like Peel, began life as a Tory, and gradually changed 
his opinion on public questions. He, however, went much further 
than Peel, and became an extreme Liberal or Radical. 

"Will Gladstone ever rise to the first place?" asked Bishop 
YVilberforce of Lord Aberdeen. 

"Yes, I have no doubt he will.*' was the answer, "but gradu- 
ally, after an interval, lie must turn the hatred of many into 
affection first, and he will turn it if he has the opportunity given 



WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE. 279 

him. Gladstone has some faults to overcome. He is too obsti- 
nate ; he does not think enough of what others may think." 

That he won the love of the people and the respect of his 
opponents is well shown by the name of "The Grand Old Man," 
given him in later years. He learned to heed other men's opin- 
ions. No one could be more easily approached ; he would listen 
as carefully to the conversation of the simplest as of the most 
learned, for he felt that he could learn something from even the 
humblest person. He was always learning, always reading ; his 
mind was like a vast storehouse where everything was packed 
away on its proper shelf. He could talk intelligently on any 
subject, and without a moment's notice could bring together 
facts and figures with perfect accuracy. Naturally he was always 
busy ; not a moment was allowed to go to waste ; every second 
was put to use. When debates dragged in the House of Com- 
mons, Mr. Gladstone would place a pad on his knee and begin 
to write letters; yet he was always alert to what was going on 
about him. If a vote was to be taken, he was ready ; if someone 
made a false statement or a misquotation, he stopped his writing 
and made an emphatic denial or correction. 

As an orator he was unsurpassed. Even his speeches on 
financial matters "held the House spellbound." He "could 
make pippins and cheese interesting and tea serious." As a 
debator Gladstone hardly had an equal. Unlike his great oppo- 
nent, Benjamin Disraeli, afterward Lord Beaconsfield, he never 
made use of epithets, but his flashing eye and eloquent words 
could accomplish more than ridicule and abuse. 

An amusing story has been told by a member of the House 
of his attempt to criticise some act of the ministry. He said, 
" I had not gone on three minutes when Gladstone turned around 
and gazed at me so that I had to sit down in the middle of a 
sentence. I could not help it. There was no standing his eye." 

Lord Coleridge once remarked that he " never feared but two 



28o 



FIRST STEPS IX THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



persons, Mr. Gladstone and Cardinal Newman; but it was awe 
of their characteristics that inspired this fear, for no one could 
cite an instance in which either of them had forgotten his dignity 
or been betrayed into a discourteous word." 

We have seen that in the time of Peel a bill had passed Parlia- 
ment making the representation in the House of Commons more 
equal. This bill did not by any means give the voting privilege 




Till' HOUSE 



if PARLIAMENT. 



to the large mass of the English people, for only those who paid 
a certain rate of taxation received the suffrage. According to 
the opinion of many in the higher ranks of society, the common 
people " should have nothing to do with the laws but obey them." 
Once this theory would never have been questioned; laborers 
were content to work, eat when they were hungry, sleep when 
they were tired, and obey their superiors. Now all the people 
were- beginning to have an interest in public affairs and to think 
for themselves. Thev demanded the ri</ht to have a share in the 



WILLIAM I.WART GLADSTONE. 28l 

government and to say who should represent them. Mr. Glad- 
stone, as leader of the House of Commons, in his speech support- 
ing the bill to enlarge the franchise, said : 

" Liberty is a thing which is good not only in its fruits but in 
itself. Give to these persons new interests in the Constitution — 
new interests which by the beneficent workings of the laws of 
Nature and Providence shall beget in them new attachment to the 
Constitution ; for the attachment of the people to the throne and 
to the laws under which they live, is, after all, more than your 
gold and silver, more than your fleets and your armies; at once 
the strength, the glory, and the safety of the land." 

This bill, which would have given the voting privilege to 
thousands, was voted down ; but the next year another bill, far 
more democratic than Gladstone's bill, was brought in by Disraeli, 
the Tory leader, who had before been in opposition. The sup- 
porters of the old bill had to support this one, which, after being 
made even more liberal, passed both Houses. The voting privi- 
lege was given to all householders and all lodgers in the towns 
who paid ten pounds rent and had lived in the same lodgings 
for a year. 

( )ne reason for the increased interest of the working people 
in governmental matters was the cheapness of the newspapers. 
News sheets had been published in England since early in the 
seventeenth century. They appeared then at irregular intervals, 
but after a time an advertisement was printed in " The Certain 
News of this Present Week," stating that the author proposed 
to "continue" this "manner of writing and printing 
weekly by God's assistance from the best and most certain in- 
telligence." As time went on papers began to multiply, but it 
was not until the reign of Queen Anne that they exerted much 
influence on the minds of the people. 

The government began to fear the power of newspapers. In 
the attempt to limit their sale, a stamp of half a penny was 



282 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF EXCLAND. 



required to be placed on every paper sold. This lax was in- 
creased again and again, until every paper printed brought to 
the government fourpence, a sum equal to eight cents of our 
money. This was not the only revenue that came into the 
national treasury from the newspapers. Every advertisement 
was taxed a sixpence. Mr. McCarthy, in his " Story of Glad- 
stone's Life," tells how an official went to the office of a news- 
paper about midnight before it went to press, 
asked for a copy, and marked with a pencil 
every item that he considered an advertise- 
ment. I lis ideas and those of the editor did 
not always agree. Often a bit of news, as the 
announcement that a certain member of Par- 
liament would make an address the next week, 
would be marked for the tax. When the 
editor urged that it was only a piece of news, 
the official replied : " News me no news," and 
"marked it down with a sixpenny tax." 
Besides, there was a heavy duty on all print- 
ing materials. 

Naturally, if a man started out in the 
newspaper business, he required a large capi- 
tal, and it was impossible to place low prices 
on the paper. Later, a part of the tax was 
taken away, but still the price was too high 
to bring newspapers into the hands of the workingman. Yet 
many were eager enough for news to club together and take a 
paper, which was circulated with the understanding that the 
subscriber who got the paper last should be entitled to keep it. 

Mr. Gladstone proposed a bill to remove these taxes, but 
it was fiercely contested. The newspapers themselves fought 
against it. Many thought that if all the people could have a 
paper, the nation, the church, and all right and truth would be 




LONDON s GAZETTE 
HERE." 

A newswoman of 1700. 



WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE. 283 

at an end. In time the bill was passed, however, and the price 
of papers fell to a penny, which brought them within the reach 
of all. 

The next step in giving better education to the working 
people was to improve the schools. In olden times no one 
expected to go to school unless he was a knight, or was to 
become a monk. The knight was taught how to shoot well with 
bow and arrow, and how to write verses to his lady, while the 
monk learned to dispute about subjects that never would or 
could be of use to anybody. After the " Revival of Learning," 
good schools and colleges were endowed. At first the grammar 
schools were free, but later only the wealthy people sent their 
children to them. Private schools for workingmen's children 
were taught by men and women often as a last resort to keep a 
roof over their heads. The teachers had little education them- 
selves, and frequently had a bad character. A small fee was 
charged, and the instruction was confined to reading, writing, 
and sewing. 

George Crabbe (Krab) thus describes a Dame School of the 
last part of the eighteenth century : 

" Where a deaf, poor, patient widow sits 
And awes some thirty infants as she knits. 
Her room is small, they cannot widely strav ; 
Her threshold high, they cannot run away. 
Though deaf, she sees the rebel-hearers shout ; 
Though lame, her white rod nimbly walks about. 
"With band of yarn she keep offenders in, 
And to her gown the sturdiest rogue can pin. 
Aided by these, and spells, and tell-tale birds, 
Her power they dread, and reverence her words." 

The schools for older children were little better. They were 
noisy, the rooms were dark, unhealthy, and poorly furnished, and 



284 FIRST STEPS IX THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

the teaching was poor. Under such circumstances children 
learned but little. If they could read the Bible and say the cate- 
chism, their education was complete. Robert of Gloucester, 
many hundred years ago, said in quaint language, " Vor the more 
that a man con [knows] the more worth he ys;" but the general 
opinion was that " there is a risk of elevating those who are 
doomed to the drudgery of daily labor above their station ; and 
rendering them unhappy and discontented with their lot." Of 
course some improvements were made as years went by, but the 
government had no authority and furnished no funds for schools 
of any kind, except a small sum for the help of private charity 
schools. 

An act establishing a system of national education was passed 
during Gladstone's first period as prime minister. All children 
are now required to attend school between the ages of five and 
fourteen. In America we would hardly call even the new schools 
free, for every parent who is able must pa}- a fee for each child. 
However, there is a fund that pays the tuition of children too 
poor to pay the fee, and thus all receive the benefit of the 
improved schools. 

" The schoolmaster is abroad," said Lord Brougham (Broo'-am), 
"and 1 trust more to the schoolmaster armed with his primer, 
than to the soldier in full military array, for upholding and ex- 
tending the liberties of my country." 

During the latter part of his life Gladstone became a warm 
friend of the Irish, and though an old man, he took up their cause 
with great earnestness. Whatever he undertook, he did not leave 
half done. He always followed the advice he gave to some school- 
boys : " If you run, you ought always to run as fast as you can; 
and if you jump, you ought always to jump as far as you can." 
Many of his old friends deserted him ; they and the nation were 
not ready to go so far as he would. His motion to give the Irish 
their great desire, Home Rule, was voted down, and he resigned 



WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE. 



285 



his position. The prime minister remains in office as long as 
Parliament supports the bills that he presents. When the House 
refuses to carry out his plans, he considers that the vote is an in- 
dication that he no longer holds the confidence of the majority 
of the English people, and he resigns. Gladstone, therefore, 
retired from office, but not from work. Only death could stop 
his active interest in public affairs. 




HAWARDEN 1 VSTLI 



Gladstone's favorite exercise was felling trees. I lis opponents 
used to say, " That is Gladstone all over, to cut down something 
that he can never cause to grow again ; there is his one chief idea 
of statesmanship." They were wrong. He never cut down a tree 
unless it was rotten or there was some other good cause, and he 
never deserted an old position simply for the sake of a change. 
His reply to some Lancaster workmen well illustrates this. 

People were constantly visiting his home in Wales, Hawarden 
(Har'-den) Park, and with the usual thoughtlessness would break 



286 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

off twigs from the trees or tear down portions of the old castle to 
carry away as souvenirs. A holiday party from Lancaster had 
been tearing branches from a beech-tree, and Mr. Gladstone took 
them to task. " We are very proud of our trees," he said, "and 
are therefore getting anxious, as the beech has already shown 
symptoms of decay. We set great store by our trees." 

" Why, then, do you cut them down ? " asked one of the men. 

"We cut down that we may improve. We remove rottenness 
that we may restore health by letting in air and light. As a good 
Liberal, you ought to understand that." 

Gladstone's tenderness of heart was well known. As a boy 
he befriended the pigs that other schoolboys were tormenting, 
and when a man he never could see distress without desiring to 
help. An interesting story is told of a carter who was jogging 
along one day with a load of iron, when a stranger came up and 
began to talk with him, inquiring about his work and how much 
he was able to make for carrying each ton. At last they came to 
a steep hill, and the stranger asked : 

" How are you going to get up this hill?" 

"Oh, I mun get me shuder and push up here." 

" I'll help you a bit," was the reply, and the stranger also put 
his shoulder to the load and pushed up the hill. 

When the} - reached the top the carter said. " You and me's 
been as good as a chain-horse." 

" Well, well," said the stranger, " I don't know how the 
horse's legs are, but mine ache very much, indeed. I suppose 
you can manage now ? " 

The stranger was Mr. Gladstone, as the carter soon learned to 
his great astonishment. 

" Mr. Gladstone !" he exclaimed. "I don't know what he'll 
think of me, then, for I newer sir'd him or nothin'. I thought he 
was some farmer." 

Gladstone was once' standing in a certain part of the House of 



WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE. 



287 



Parliament that formed a whispering gallery. Many visitors were 

present th.it day, among them a young shoemaker and his sweet- 
heart. They were quietly whispering together, wholly unaware 
that every word could be distinctly heard on the other side of 
the room. It appeared that they had expected to be married 
soon, but the shoemaker's business was poor, and the wedding 
had been postponed. Mr. 
Gladstone hunted up the 
shop, by inquiring found 
out the owner's character, 
and gave him an order. As 
the work was satisfactory, 
he persuaded some of his 
friends to employ this shoe- 
maker, and soon the man 
had more work than he 
could do. Mr. Gladstone 
was the busiest and hardest- 
worked man in England. 
but he could always find 
time for one more kindness. 
Three kings of England 
have each ruled more than 
fifty years, Henry III.. Ed- 
ward III., and ( feorge III. 

Queen Victoria celebrated not only her fiftieth, but her sixtieth 
year as queen, and died in the first month of the twentieth cen- 
tury, after reigning more than sixty-three years. She was suc- 
ceeded by her oldest son. Edward VII. On her fiftieth anniver- 
sary Mr. Gladstone contrasted her jubilee with the jubilee of 
George the Third. "His was a jubilee of the great folks, a 
jubilee of the upper classes;" Victoria's was that of the whole 
people. "The population are better represented, are more free, 




Ql I I \ VJi 



288 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



have fewer criminals, are better fed, better clothed, and better 
housed, and that by a great deal, than they were fifty years ago ; 
and the great mass of these happy and blessed changes is associ- 
ated with the name and action of the queen." 

Gladstone was right. Queen Victoria's influence was always 
for justice and truth. But as much credit is due to two great 
statesmen who dared to go contrary to the opinions of their 
friends in order to make a whole nation free and prosperous. 

Tell how Gladstone resembled Sir Robert Peel. 

Describe Gladstone's character ; his active life ; his kindness of heart. 

Give an account of the Suffrage Reform Bill. 

Tell the story of the growth ami the trials of the newspapers. 

Describe the Knglish schools. 

Contrast the reigns of George III. and Victoria. 

If Robert Peel " refused rank and honor from his sovereign," how then 
did he become Sir Robert Peel ? What statesman did Gladstone resemble 
in his ability to control the House by his eloquence ? What were some of 
the reasons for the increased interest of the people in public affairs ? What 
is meant by "democratic"? Why should the newspapers fight against 
the repeal of the tax on them ? Why are those nations the happiest and 
most prosperous whose people are educated and free ? 




From a print of i860. 



\\ 1M 1S1 >k CASTLE. 




CHAPTER XXIX. 

Cecil Rhodes. 



1853-1902. 

WE must not forget that England is a very small part of the 
British Empire. The islands that form the United Kingdom of 
Great Britain and Ireland are less than one-ninetieth part of the 
whole empire. English possessions, colonies they are called, are 
in all sections of the world — in Asia, Africa, North and South 
America, Australia, and among the islands of the seas. In fact, 
England owns more than one-fifth of the land surface of the 
earth. To keep these scattered lands from the greedy clutch of 
other nations she supports the largest navy in the world, for all 
the European states are jealous of her influence and prosperity, 
and would try to humble her if they dared. 

These colonies, which have produced so much wealth and, 
perhaps, more trouble and perplexities, have come to England in 
different ways— some by exploration, some by conquest, some 
by unjust seizure, and some by treaties with the natives. We 
have already seen how Englishmen won India, and their influ- 

19 



29O FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

encc has extended over province after province until not only the 
Indian peninsula, but portions of Indo-China, or Farther India, 
and Baluchistan are under British control. Here the Anglo- 
Saxons, mostly government and army officials, merchants and 
planters, are a very small part of the population. 

The better class of the inhabitants of India are intelligent, 
educated, and cultured ; but the lower classes are degraded and 
superstitious. Living closely packed together in some provinces, 
the poor suffer at times from long-continued famines. Native 
wealth is seldom used to relieve their distress, because they are 
considered an inferior caste, of whom the world might well be 
rid. A native prince will spend thousands of rupees to feed his 
sacred crocodiles, but not one to help his starving subjects. 
During recent years millions of people have been kept alive by 
English, American, and European bounty. India is now gov- 
erned liberally and wisely ; the people are not compelled to give 
up their old religious beliefs, though the cruelties connected with 
them have been stopped by law. They have been brought under 
the influence of a better and kinder civilization, and life means 
more to them. 

The conditions in Australia are far different. There the 
population is largely English, and the natives, who are degraded 
savages, are fast dying out. The development of Australia is 
one of the most wonderful in the history of the world ; in sixty 
years it has grown from a penal colony to a populous and enlight- 
ened commonwealth. It is not known when the continent was 
discovered, but probably some time early in the sixteenth cen- 
tury, though its size and shape remained in doubt for nearly 
two hundred years afterward. Captain William Dampier (Dam'- 
peer), who visited it late in the seventeenth century, reported : 
" It is a very large tract of land. It is not yet determined 
whether it is an island or a main continent ; but I am certain 
that it joins neither Asia, Africa, nor America." 



CECIL RHODES. 29I 

The first colony was settled in New South Wales late in the 
eighteenth century, but the success of these early settlers would 
not tempt other colonists. Most discouraging reports were sent 
to England. They said : " In the whole world there is not a worse 
country that we have seen than this " ; " the country contains 
less resources than any other in the known world " ; and it " is 
incapable of yielding to Great Britain a return for colonizing it " ; 
and again, " if a favorable picture has been drawn, it is a gross 
falsehood and a base deception." England, accepting these 
statements, made of Australia a penal colony, where were sent 
all the criminals and wrongdoers that the courts did not like to 
hang and knew not how else to dispose of. 

Naturally a colony presented few attractions for settlers when 
its population was sarcastically called — 

" True patriots all ; for, be it understood, 
We left our country for our country's good." 

Of course England expected her bad children to reform in the 
new land and to become law-abiding citizens, but, freed from all 
the restraints of civilization, they grew worse rather than better. 
Not until stockmen discovered that Australia was a good country 
for sheep and cattle raising did a better class of colonists arrive. 

About the middle of the century a wandering miner from 
California reported that he had found gold in the mountains of 
New South Wales, now Victoria. A few months later gold was 
discovered in another place, and soon after in another. People 
began to think that Australia was not such a worthless place 
after all, and thousands from all the countries of the world 
flocked to the southern continent. " Victoria, in a night as it 
were, was lifted from being an unconsidered nook in an out-of- 
the-way wilderness, to become a nation among nations and 
a power in the world." It is said that ten thousand persons a 



292 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



week arrived at Melbourne. " Have you been to the diggings?" 
"Are you going? " was asked of every newcomer. 

After the first excitement over the gold findings died out, 
Australia settled down to a quieter life. Other mineral wealth 




AN Al S I KALIAN SHE! 1' I ARM. 



was discovered ; South Australia was found to be a good wheat- 
producing region ; New South Wales introduced manufactures. 
For years the Australians have been agitating a union or federa- 
tion of the six separate colonies, believing that the interests of the 
continent would be better cared for if all sections were united. 
A constitution similar to that of the United States was adopted 



CECIL RHODES. 293 

in Australia, approved by England, and went into operation on 
the first day of the twentieth century. Under it, the Home 
Government appoints a Governor-General, but in all other 
respects Australia is absolutely independent. The people elect 
their own legislature, regulate their own tariff, levy their own 
taxes, and have their own courts. " For the first time in the 
world's history there will be a nation for a continent and a 
continent for a nation." 

In a poem published in the " London Times," Rudyard Kip- 
ling has beautifully pictured the birth of this new nation : 

" Her hand still on her sword-hilt, the spur still on her heel, 
She had not cast her harness of gray, war-dented steel; 
High on her red-splashed charger, beautiful, bold and browned, 
Bright-eyed out of the battle, the young Queen rode to be crowned. 

And she came to the old Queen's presence, in the hall of our thousand 

years, 
To the hall of five free nations that are peers anions their peers; 
Royal she gave the greeting, loyal she bowed the head. 
Crying, ' Crown me, my mother ! ' and the old Queen stood and said : 

'I have swayed troublous councils — (I am wise in terrible things) 
Father and son and grandson, I have known the heart of the kings. 
Shall I give thee my sleepless wisdom, or the gift all wisdom above ? 
Ay, we be women together — I give thee thy people's love ! 

'Tempered, august, abiding, reluctant of prayers or vows, 
Eager in face of peril, as theirs for their mother's house — 
Cod requite thee, my daughter, through the strenuous years to be, 
And make thy people to love thee as thou hast loved me ! ' " 

At the opposite end of the world from Australia is the largest 
of the English colonies, British America, or the Dominion of 
Canada. A large part of British America lies within or close 



294 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

to the Arctic circle, and is sparsely populated. The winters are 
long, and the climate is severely cold ; yet this section is by no 
means valueless. The Klondike region, near the boundaries of 
Alaska, is rich in gold deposits; extensive forests cover the un- 
settled districts, and large quantities of furs are annually exported 
by the Hudson Bay Company. The climate of the southern part 
of Canada is much like that of the northern part of the United 
States. The land is very productive ; the highest-priced wheat 
is raised on the prairies of Manitoba, and the fisheries of the 
Dominion are the most important in the world. 

Canada came into the possession of the British Government 
at the close of the French and Indian War. As it was originally 
a province of France, the population in some sections is largely 
French. At times they grumble, but on the whole they are as 
loyal to England as are those of English birth. Canada, like 
Australia, is practically independent. The Home Government 
in England appoints a Governor-General, the people elect their 
own premier and Parliament, and each province takes care of its 
local affairs. 

The colony that has held the attention of the world during 
the last year of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the 
twentieth is South Africa. English rule, which was originally 
limited to the Dutch settlement of Cape Colony, has gradually 
extended over a continuous strip of land from the Cape of Good 
Hope north through the "dark continent " nearly to Nubia and 
Egvpt, which are also under English control. 

This growth of power has been due not only to the natural re- 
sults of English enterprise, but largely to the faith, the energy, and 
the genius of Cecil Rhodes, who, it has been said, thought in con- 
tinents, while some men think in nations, and most in parishes. 
Probably few men of this generation have been more admired or 
condemned. A large part of the public thinks that he was 
grasping, unscrupulous, cruel, and selfish ; all admit that he had 



CECIL RHODES. 



295 



great ability. He thoroughly believed that English rule meant 
freedom and justice to all classes of people, and he put forth 
every effort to bring as large a part of Africa as possible under 
English control. One day he was found studying a map of 
Africa. " That is my dream," he said, running his finger over 
the map to the Zambezi (Zam-ba'ze) River, " all English." 




THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



" Some men have a fancy for this thing, some for that thing, 
but you have a fancy for making an empire," once remarked a 
friend. 

When a young man, Mr. Rhodes was obliged to leave Oxford 
University and go to South Africa for his health. He went to 
the newly discovered diamond fields and began work on a claim. 
The pure air of the interior made him well and his success made 
him rich. At first he sat patiently day by day before his table 



296 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

sorting the diamonds that the Kaffirs (Kaf'-fers) had found in the 
mine ; and before he was thirty he was the head of the company 
that owned the valuable diamond mines at Kimberley. The 
people at work about him called him "eccentric and a dreamer." 
Perhaps he was, for he did what few men would have done: he 
went back to ( >xford and completed his college course, spending 
the vacation periods in Africa looking after his mining interests. 

< >ne day an old man and a young man were traveling from 
the Cape to Kimberley in a cart. The oxen were slow and the 
journey required man}- days. The young man spent the time 
studying a book, which aroused the old man's curiosity ; but he 
was an Englishman, and he had not been introduced. Two days 
passed before he asked what book the young man was reading. 
After that the journey was no longer lonesome. The young 
man was Cecil Rhodes, and he was studying the "Thirty-nine 
Articles," preparing for his next examination at Oxford. 

When General Gordon was in Southern Africa, he and Cecil 
Rhodes became great friends. Gordon, though he did not agree 
with Rhodes in all matters, greatly admired and trusted him. If 
Rhodes had been the wholly selfish man that many think him, 
this close friendship could not have been. Gordon begged Rhodes 
to remain with him in Basutoland (Ba-su'-to-land). " Stay with 
me,*' he said. " We can work together." When Rhodes refused, 
Gordon replied : " There are very icw men in the world to whom 
1 would make such an offer. Very few men, I can tell you; but, 
of course, you will have your own way." 

The difference in the characters of the two men is shown in 
this story that is told of them. After General Gordon had put 
down a rebellion in China, the Chinese Government offered him 
a roomful of gold. lie was telling Rhodes about it one day. 

"What did you do?" asked Rhodes. 

" Refused it, of course," replied Gordon. " What would you 
have done? " 



CECIL RHODES. 



297 



" I would have taken it and as many more roomfuls as they 
would have given me. It is no use for us to have big ideas if 
we have not the money to carry them out." 

Yet Mr. Rhodes did not want money for itself, but for what 
he could do with it. He spent little on himself and condemned 




OPEN WORKINGS IN THE KIMBERLEY DIAMOND MINES. 



other millionaires whose sole wish is to leave a fortune for their 
children. "Give your boys the best education you can and then 
let them make their own way. As for any money you may have, 
it should all go to the public service." Such was Mr. Rhodes's 
opinion of the way wealth should be used. With his he built 
railroads and telegraph and telephone lines, helped to put down 



298 FIRST STEPS IX THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

the slave trade, and aided the stockmen with his experiments in 
cattle raising. One of his desires was to connect Cairo with Cape 
Town by railroad, and over two thousand of the three thousand 
seven hundred miles are nearly completed. When this line is 
finished, Africa will soon cease to be the " dark continent," for 
the telegraph and the railroad are " the advance guard of 
civilization." 

The Dutch form the largest part of the European population 
in South .Africa. They are not progressive, and have frequently 
had conflicts with the English. Mr. Rhodes did much to 
bring together these two nationalities, and for this reason has 
been called "the Englishman with the Africander heart." His 
skill, however, was not sufficient to keep them at peace ; but 
perhaps it was not always asked for. He said that the Boer 
(Boor) war could have been prevented. 

Completely surrounded by English territory were two inde- 
pendent Dutch Republics, the Orange Free State and the Trans- 
vaal (Trans-val '). The inhabitants, who are mostly stockmen, 
retain the customs of their ancestors, and hate the English, who 
more than once have driven them from their farms farther on into 
the wilderness. A few years ago gold was discovered in great 
quantities near Johannesburg ( Yo-han'-nes-burg), the capital of 
the Transvaal. Immediately thousands hastened to the new gold 
fields, and the foreigners, or Uitlanders, became the larger part 
of the population. Everything was done to make their condi- 
tion as hard as possible; they were heavily taxed, exorbitant 
prices were placed upon all their supplies, and they had no share 
in the government. England tried to persuade the Boer Govern- 
ment to lessen the hardships of the Uitlanders, who were mostly 
Englishmen, but the negotiators were sent away by President 
Kriiger with the message, "Go back and tell your people I will 
never give them anything. I will never change my policy. 
Now let the storm burst ! " .Mistakes followed mistakes on each 



CECIL RHODES. 



2 99 



side. Neither people were free from wrongdoing, and at last the 
storm burst. A long and disastrous guerilla war followed. The 
Boers are hard fighters, and the English find that modern meth- 
ods of warfare 
are almost 
useless in a 
country cut 
up by hills 
and other ir- 
regularities of 
surface. Eng- 
land has pro- 
claimed that 
the Transvaal 
and the Or- 
ange Free 
State are 
British terri- 
tory; but the 
conquest has 
been at the 
expense of 
thousands of 
lives, millions 
of pounds of 
money, and 
terrible dis- 
tress and suf- 
fering. 

When the war broke out Mr. Rhodes went to Kimberley, 
which is close to the border of the Transvaal. It was a courageous 
act, for the Boers hated him intensely. Once before, during the 
terrible Matabele (Mat'-a-bel') insurrection, he did not hesitate to 




KIM; EDWARD VII, AND QUEEN ALEXANDRA. 



300 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

go into the enemy's country. The English troops were unable 
to bring the war to a close, and Rhodes offered to try what he 
could do. He went to the camp of the enemy among the 
mountains, and walked into the hut of the leading chief where a 
council was being held. After a little discussion he asked sud- 
denly, " Is it peace or war ? " The chief lifted a stick, threw it 
down at Rhodes's feet, exclaiming; " This is my gun. I throw it 
at your feet." The other chiefs one by one followed his example. 

Then, after Rhodes had talked over the situation with them, 
the head chief said : " It is good, my father. You have trusted us 
and we have spoken. We are all here to-day and our voice is the 
voice of the nation. We are the mouths and ears of the people. 
We give you one word. It is peace. The war is over. We will 
not break our word." 

The question in the minds of many thinking people in England 
as well as in the colonies is, " What will be the future of the vari- 
ous English colonies?" Their connection with the Home Gov- 
ernment is very slight ; they are almost independent. Can they 
remain as the\- are, or must there be some closer bond between 
them to keep them from becoming separate nations? As yet 
they are loyal, as has been shown by the Boer war. Unasked, 
Canada and Australia fitted out and sent to Africa regiments of 
soldiers to help the English armies. This may be the beginning 
of the closer federation which Cecil Rhodes desired to bring about. 
Then each colony will send representatives to the Parliament at 
London, and all will unite in a common cause and a common 
interest. 

Contrast the inhabitants of the various English colonies. 

Describe the growth and development of Australia. 

Tell the story of the life of Cecil Rhodes : his ambition; his successes; 
his statesmanship ; his courage. 

Ciive an account of the troubles between the Dutch and the English 
in South Africa. 

State what many hope will be the future of the English colonies. 






CECIL RHODES. 



?0 1 



Does a large army or a large navy keep a country free from the 
attacks of other nations ? Why have not Englishmen settled in India as 
they have in the other colonies ? Why are the poor and the unfortunate 
better taken care of in a civilized than in an uncivilized country ? If 
Australia could not support a small colony in the eighteenth century, how- 
is it that now a large population can live there ? What are the six col- 
onies of Australia ? Can men of absolutely unlike characters be close 
friends ? Do people criticise men because they have money, or because 
of the way in which they use it ? Are Mr. Rhodes's ideas right ? Why 
are the railroads and the telegraphs the advance guards of civilization ? 
Is it necessary for families and nations to have a common interest to hold 
them together ? 



TE 





ENGLAND. 





GREAT BRITAIN. 



GREAT BRITAIN AND 
IRELAND. 



Mil I'VOLUTION OF THE I'NION FLAG. 






Chronology of Events in English History. 



B.C. 55 C?esar's first expedition to Britain. 

54 Caesar's second expedition to Britain. 
A.D. 4.'5 Beginning of the real conquest of Britain by the Romans. 
5<> Caradoc carried captive to Rome. 
81-85 Agricola's wall built from the Frith of Forth to the Frith 
of Clyde. 
121 Hadrian's wall built from the Tyne to the Frith of Solway. 
410 Romans abandon Britain. 

Picts and Scots invade England. 
44i) Hengist and Horsa land on the Isle of Thanet. 
41)5 Cerdic founds the kingdom of Wessex. 
520 King Arthur checks the Saxons. 
547 The Angles settle Northumbria. 
590 Fthelbert becomes king of Kent. 
51)7 St. Augustine arrives in England. 
<>27 Northumbria converted to Christianity. 
7J*5 Death of Bseda. 
78J) Danes first invade England. 
8i£8 Egbert becomes the first king of England. 
8.'57 Fthelwulf succeeds his father Fgbert. 
871 The Danes defeated by Kthelred and Alfred. 

Alfred succeeds his brother Kthelred. 
878 The Danes conquer Wessex. 
Treaty of Wedmore. 
88<)-8«K5 A period of peace. 
901 Death of Alfred. 

Edward succeeds his father Alfred. 
lOl.'J Swegen conquers England and becomes king. 



3°4 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



1071 
1086 



1087 
1 1<M> 



IOIO Canute elected king. 

1042 Edward the Confessor becomes king. 

lO-li) Westminster Abbey begun. 

lOGO Harold becomes king. 

William of Normandy claims the throne. 

Battle of Stamford Bridge, September 25. 

William lands at Pevensey, September 28. 

Battle of Hastings, October 14. 

Death of Harold, the last Saxon king. 

William I., the Conqueror, crowned king of Eng- 
land, December 25. 

The English finally defeated by William at Ely. 

Doomsday Book completed. It included a census and 
lists of property in nearly all parts of England outside 
of London. 

William Rufus succeeds his father. 

Henry I. secures the throne. 

"The first charter of liberties" issued. This charter 
limited the power of the king, and granted various 
rights to the people. 

Loss of the White Ship. 

Matilda married to Geoffrey of Anjou. 

birth of Henry Plantagenet. 

Death of Henry I. 

Stephen, Count of Blois, seizes the throne. 

Civil war. 

Treaty of Wallingford. Henry Plantagenet acknowledged 
as heir to the throne. 
1 l.">4 Henry II. becomes king of England. 

Complete union of English and Norman elements. 
1 157 Ireland given to England by Pope Adrian IV. 
1 1 (>2 Thomas a Becket becomes Archbishop of Canterbury. 
1 1(»4- Quarrel between Becket and Henry II. 

Constitutions of Clarendon. 
1170 Becket murdered. 





1 1 20 




112S 




1 1 .'54 




1 135 


1 1 38 


1 153 




1 1 r»:{ 



CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS IN ENGLISH HISTORY. 305 

1171 Henry II. makes an expedition to Ireland. 
11713 Henry makes a pilgrimage to Becket's tomb. 
118.? Henry's sons rebel. 
1181) Death of Henry II. 

Richard 1. succeeds his father. 

Charters granted to several towns. 

Richard I. goes on the third crusade. 
1194 War with Philip of France. 
1 199 J0I1 11 succeeds his brother. 
1 2():5 Death of Arthur of Brittany. 

1204 Loss of most of the English possessions in France. 
1207 Stephen Langton elected Archbishop of Canterbury. 
1209 John excommunicated by the Pope. 
1213 John becomes the Pope's vassal. 
1215 John signs Magna Carta, June 15. 

The barons offer the crown to Louis of France. 
121<> Henry III. succeeds his father. 
12<W{ Beginning of the Parous' War. 
12<>4 Pattle of Lewes. 

Merton College, Oxford, founded. 
12<>."» First Meeting of the House of Commons, January 20. 

Battle of Fvesham. 

Death of Simon de Montfort, August 4. 
1272 Edward I. succeeds his father. 
1282 Insurrection of Llewelyn of Wales. 
1284 Wales annexed to England. 

Birth of the first Prince of Wales. 
1292 Baliol becomes king of Scotland. 
1295 Parliament first meets in two separate bodies, the House 

of Lords and the House of Commons. 
1297 Revolt of Sir William Wallace. 
13(M> Robert Bruce crowned king of Scotland. 
1307 Edward II. succeeds his father. 
1314 Battle of Bannockbura. 
i:$27 Edward II. deposed. 
20 



306 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



1327 

1:5:57 

134G 

1347 

1:548-1349 



1356 
1360 

1:5 70 

137 7 

1381 

1386 (?) 
1399 

1413 
1415 
142<> 



1422 
1428 
1431 
1453 

1455 
1401 
1471 

1476 (?) 
1483 



Edward III. succeeds his father. 

Woollen manufactures introduced into England. 

Edward III. claims the crown of France. 

Battle of Crecy. 

Calais captured by the English. 

The Black Death. 

Discontent of laborers and passage of Statute of Laborers, 

regulating the price of labor. 
Battle of Poitiers. 
Treaty of Bretigny. 
Death of the Black Prince. 
Richard II., son of the Black Prince, succeeds his 

grandfather. 
Wycliffe translates the Bible into English. 
Wat Tyler's insurrection. 
Chaucer writes the Canterbury Tales. 
Richard II. deposed. 
Henry IV. crowned. 
Henry V. succeeds his father. 
Pat tie of Agincourt, October 25. 
Peace of Troves. 
Henry marries Catherine of France and becomes heir to 

the throne. 
Henry VI. succeeds his father. 
Siege of Orleans. 
Death of Joan of Arc. 
End of the Hundred Years' War. 
French possessions, except Calais, lost. 
Beginning of the Wars of the Roses. 
Edward IV. succeeds Henry VI. 
Death of the Earl of Warwick. 
Death of Henry VI. 

Caxton sets up the first printing press in England. 
Edward V. succeeds his father. 
Edward V. and his brother murdered in the Tower. 






CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS IN ENGLISH HISTORY. 307 



1483 Richard III. crowned. 

1485 Battle of Bosworth Field. 

Henry VII. crowned. 

End of the Wars of the Roses. 

1497 John Cabot discovers the North American mainland. 

1499 Beginning of the " Revival of Learning." 

1509 Henry VIII. succeeds his father. 

1515 Thomas Wolsey becomes Cardinal and Chancellor. 

1520 Field of the Cloth of Gold. 

1530 Death of Wolsey. 

1534 Henry VIII. declared to be the Supreme Head of the 

English Church. 

1547 Edward VI. succeeds his father. 

1549 First English Prayer Book. 

15512-1553 Grammar schools and hospitals founded. 

1553 Mary crowned. 

1555 Persecutions of Protestants. 

1558 Calais captured by the French. 
Elizabeth succeeds Mary. 

1559 Protestantism restored. 

1502 Sir John Hawkins begins the slave trade. 

1577 Sir Francis Drake sails round the world. 

1584 Raleigh sends colonists to Virginia. 

1586 (?) Shakespeare goes to London. 

1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada. 

1590 Spencer's " Faerie Queen " published. 

IOOO East India Company chartered. 

1003 .lames I. crowned. 

1607 Jamestown, Virginia, settled. 

101 1 " King James " translation of the Bible completed. 

IOIO Death of Shakespeare. 

10120 Harvey discovers circulation of the blood. 

Plymouth settled by Pilgrims. 

1022 First periodical newspaper published. 

1025 Charles I. succeeds his father. 



3 o8 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



1<>2<> A forced loan demanded. 

1(»27 John Hampden imprisoned for refusing to lend to the 

king. 
1(128 The "Petition of Right" passed, prohibiting taxation 
without the consent of Parliament, and the imprison- 
ment of any person except under a direct charge. 
l(»f$7 Hampden tried for refusing to pay ship money. 
1640 The Long Parliament meets. 
1(>41 Earl of Strafford executed. 

1<>42 Charles I. demands the imprisonment of five members of 
Parliament. 

Battle of Kdgehill. 

Death of Hampden. 
KS44 Battle of Marston Moor. 
1<>45 Self-denying Ordinance passed. 

Battle of Naseby, June 14. 
1(J4(» Charles I. taken prisoner. 
1<>47 Charles I. makes a treaty with the Scots. 
1<>48 " Pride's Purge," December 6-7. 

The Rump Parliament. 
1649 Trial of the king, January 20-27. 

Execution of Charles I., January 30. 
1(>49-1(><»0 The Commonwealth. 

1049 House of Lords abolished. 

Revolt against Cromwell in Ireland. 

Charles II. proclaimed king in Scotland. 

Cromwell appointed commander general. 

1651 Charles totally defeated in the battle of Worcester. 

1652 War with the Dutch. 

1653 Cromwell dissolves the Rump Parliament. 
" Barebone's Parliament." 

Cromwell appointed Lord Protector, I )ecember 16. 
1656-1659 War with Spain. 

1<>57 Cromwell offered the title of king. 
1(>58 Death of Cromwell. 






CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS IN ENGLISH HISTORY. 309 



1 6.">8 Richard Cromwell succeeds his father. 

1659 Richard Cromwell resigns. 

1660 General Monk enters London. 
Charles II. invited to return. 

1662 The Royal Society founded. 
1665 The Great Plague. 
1 666 The great London fire. 
1667 Milton publishes " Paradise Lost." 
1(»70 Bunyan writes " Pilgrim's Progress." 
1679 The Habeas Corpus Act passed. Its purpose was to pro- 
tect against unjust imprisonment. 
1685 James II. succeeds his brother. 

Battle of Sedgemoor, the last battle fought on English 
soil. 
1687 Newton makes known his Law of Gravitation. 
1689 Bill of Rights passed. 

William and Mary crowned. 

1694 Death of Queen Mary. 

1695 Severe laws passed against the Roman Catholics. 
1702 Anne succeeds William III. 

170.'? First daily newspaper. 

1707 Union of English and Scotch Parliaments. 

1714 George I. crowned. 

17 15 Rebellion in Scotland under the Old Pretender. 

17 IO De Foe publishes " Robinson Crusoe." 

1722 Robert Walpole becomes the fust Prime Minister. 

1727 George II. succeeds his father. 

1738 Rise of Methodism. 

1745 Rebellion in Scotland under the Young Pretender. 

1746 The Young Pretender defeated at Culloden. 
1 751 Robert Give captures Arcot. 

1752 New style of computing time introduced. 
1756 Beginning of the Seven Years' War with France. 

The massacre at Calcutta. 
1 757 Battle of Plassey. 



310 - FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

1757 William Pitt becomes Secretary of State. 

1759 Victory of Wolfe at Quebec. 

1700 George III. crowned. 

1703 Peace of Paris. Canada acquired by England. 

1704 Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny. 

1705 Stamp Act passed. 
Isaac Watts invents his steam engine. 

1708 Arkwright invents the spinning machine. 

1773 The Boston Tea Party. 

1775 Beginning of the American Revolution. 

1770 Declaration of Independence. 

1778 Roman Catholic Relief Act passed. 
War with France. 

1782 Defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown. 

1783 Independence of the United States acknowledged. 
1787 First convicts sent to Australia. 
1801 Irish Parliament abolished. 
1805 War with France. 

Battle of Trafalgar. 
1807 Slave trade abolished. 
1809-1814 Sir Arthur Wellesley's campaign in the Spanish Penin- 
sular. 
1812-1814 War with the United States. 

1815 England gains possessions in South Africa. 

Battle of Waterloo. 
1820 George IV. succeeds his father. 
1824 Capital punishment restricted. 
1820 First temperance society formed. 

1829 New police system in London. 
Catholic Emancipation Act. 

1 830 Stephenson invents first successful locomotive. 
18.32 First Suffrage Reform Bill passed. 

1833 Slaves emancipated in the colonies. 
First Factory Act. 

1834 Robert Peel becomes Prime Minister. 



CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS IN ENGLISH HISTORY. 31 1 



1837 



1840 
1842 
1846 



1852 
1854-1856 

1855 

1857 

1858 
1867 
1868 



1870 

1876 
1879 
1881 

1887 
189 7 
IOOO 

IOOI 



William IV. succeeds his brother. 

Victoria crowned. 

Hanover becomes a separate kingdom. 

Criminal laws reformed. 

Penny postage introduced. 

Chimney Sweep Act. 

Irish famine. 

Repeal of Corn Laws. 

Ether first used. 

Death of Duke of \Yellington. 

Crimean War. 

Newspaper tax repealed. 

First cheap newspaper. 
Jews admitted to Parliament. 

First Atlantic cable. 

Second Suffrage Reform Act. 

Imprisonment for debt abolished. 

Mr. Gladstone becomes Prime Minister. 

Suez Canal opened. 

National Education Act. 

First Irish Land Act. 

Victoria proclaimed Empress of India. 

The Irish Land League. 

Second Irish Land Act. 

Queen's Jubilee. 

The Diamond Jubilee. 

War with Boers in South Africa. 

Australian Federation. 

Death of Queen Victoria. 

Edward VII. succeeds to the throne. 



William the Conqueror *- 

1066-1087 \j!I 

1 1 ^n " 1 -f 

Robert William Rufus Henry I. Adela — Stephen, Count ,, 

1087-1100 1100-1135 I of Blois V 

I Stephen 

Matilda = Geoffrey 1135-1154 , 

I of Anjou ^~^~ — " 
Henry II. 

I 1154-1189 

I i i 1 

Henry Richard I. Geoffrey John 

— — -- n8g-ugg | 1 1199-1216 

——~~ Arthur Henry III. 

Murdered 1203 I 1216 1272 

~~~^~ Edward I. 

! 1272-1307 
Edward II. 

1 307-1 327 
Edward III. 

I 1327-137 7 

1 1 - 

^^^k Lionel, Blanche = John of Gaunt, = Catherine Swynford 

the Llacl^H^^ Duke of Clarence of Lancaster Duke of Lancaster 



# 



Philippa Henry IV. John Beaufort 

1399-1413 I 

Roger Mortimer, Henry V. = Catherine = Owen Tudor John Beaufort 

Earl of March 1413-1422 I of France ] 



Henry VI. Edmund Tudor, = Margaret 
Edmund Ann = Richard, Earl of 1422-1461 Earl of Richmond I 
Died 14J4 Cambridge 

^™"~~" ~* Edward, 

Prince of Wales 

Mu rdered 1 471 Henry VII. = Elizab 

1485 1509 



Arthur 
Died 1502 



Ma 
»553- 



lealogy of the English Sovereigns from 
Uiam the Conqueror to Edward VII. 



Edmund, Duke of York 



yard, Duke of York Richard, = Ann, daughter of the 

Died 1415 Earl of Cambridge I Earl of March 

Richard, Duke of York 



dward IV. 
1461-1483 



Richard III. 
1 483- 1 485 



George, Duke of Clarence 
Died 1478 



Edward V. 

1483 



Richard, Duke of York 
Murdered 1483 



Henry VIII. 
I509-J547 



Elizabeth 
1558 1603 



Edward VI. 
1547-1553 



Margaret = James IV. of Scotland 

James V. of Scotland 

I 
Mary, Queen of Scots 

I 
James VI. of Scotland 

became 
James I. of England 
I 1603-1625 



Elizabeth 



Charles I. 

I 1625-1649 



Charles II. Mary 

1660-1685 



Sophia = Ernest Augustus 
I Elector of Hanover 



Anne Hyde = James II. 
1 685- 1 688 



Mary of Este 



James Francis Edward, 
the Old Pretender 



George I. 

I 1714-1727 
George II. 

I 1727-1760 
Frederick, Prince of Wales 
I Died 1751 
George III. 

1 1 760-1 820 



George IV. 
1820 1830 



William III. 
1689-1702 



Mary 



Charles Edward, 

the Young Pretender 

Died 1788 



Henry, 

Cardinal of York 

Died 1807 



William IV. 
1 830-1 837 



Edward, Duke of Kent 
I Died 1820 
Victoria = Prince Albert 
1837-1901 I of Saxe-Coburg Gotha 

Edward VII. 



Ind 



ex. 



Acre, Siege of, 74; its capture, 75, 76. 

Africa, Slaves captured in, 250 ; English 
rule in South, 294; Rhodes's ambitions 
for, 295 ; Dutch in South, 29S ; war in 
South, 299. 

Aftal and the English envoys, 74, 75. 

Agincourt, Battle of, 132; compared with 
Cabot's discoveries, 154. 

Alexander the Great, 46. 

Alexander III. of Scotland, his death, 99. 

Alfred, his early life, 39, 40; wins victory 
over th« Danes, 42 ; becomes king of 
West Saxons, 43 ; visits Danish camp, 
44 ; defeats the Danes, 45 ; his char- 
acter, 46, S2 ; his work for England, 

47- 

Alice, the "noble maid of Anjou," 60. 

Alnwick, 85. 

America, discovered by Columbus, 152 ; 
discovered by Cabot, 154; English and 
Erench colonies in, 224 ; colonies win 
their independence, 229. 

Angleland, 29. 

Angles, arrive in Britain, 24 ; conquer 
Britain, 2S, 29. 

Anglo-Saxon, origin of the name, 29 ; 
civilization, 30 ; religion, 31 ; Chron- 
icles, 47. 

Anjou, its importance, 60 ; badge worn 
by Counts of, 62 ; Arthur proclaimed 
Count of, 83; seized by France, 85. 

Anne, Queen of England, 219 ; news- 
papers in reign of, 281. 



Aquitaine, joined to England, 62 ; Black 

Prince governs, 114. 
Arcot, Capture of, 235. 
Armada, sets sail, 171 ; defeat of, 172, 

173- 
Arthur, becomes king, 24 ; defeats the 

barbarians, 25 ; legends about, 25, 26. 
Arthur of Brittany, his rights to the 

throne, 83 ; his death, 84. 
Arthur, Prince of Wales, 161. 
Ascalon, its capture, 76. 
Astronomy, in Middle Ages, 215. 
Athelney, Battle of, 44, 45. 
Augustine, lands at Ebbsneet, 32 ; 

preaches to Ethelbert, 33. 
Australia, Early opinions regarding, 290; 

a penal colony, 291 ; government of, 

293 ; loyalty of, 300. 
Australian Federation, 292, 293. 

Bacon, Francis, 182. 

Baeda, the first English historian, 35 ; 

translates Gospel of St. John, 36 ; his 

work at Jarrow, 38. 
Baliol, John, becomes king of Scotland, 

100; breaks his oath, 101. 
Ball, John, his sermon, 124. 
Bannockburn, Battle of, 105, 106. 
Barebone's Parliament, 205. 
Becket, Gilbert a, 63. 
Becket, Thomas a, his parentage, 63; his 

wealth, 64; becomes chancellor, 65; his 

sincerity, 66; his quarrel with the king, 



3H 



INDEX. 



67 ; his death, 68 ; his popularity as a 
saint, 69 ; compared with Wolsey, 158, 
160. 

Bedford, Duke of, 133, 138. 

Bengal, Clive's campaign in, 238. 

Bernicia, settled by Angles, 30; conquers 
Deira, 31; united with Deira, 34. 

Bertha of Kent, 32. 

Birmingham, 271. 

Black Death, The, 122. 

Black Prince, The, rejoicing at his birth, 
108 ; at battle of Crecy, 109 ; his vic- 
tory, 111; in Southern France, 114; his 
death, 115; his playmate, 190. 

Blondel, his search for Richard I., 78. 

Boers, in South Africa, 298 ; war with, 
299, 300. 

Boleyn, Anne, and Henry VIII., 163 ; 
mother of Elizabeth, 164. 

Bombay, 233. 

Books, in Shakespeare's time, 177. 

Boston Tea Party, 228. 

Bosworth Field, Battle of, 146. 

Bradshaw, John, chief justice, 203; pres- 
ident of council of state, 204. 

Bretigny, Treaty of, 115. 

Bright, John, and the corn laws, 274. 

Britain, before first century, 13, 14 ; 
trades with Gaul, 17 ; under Roman 
rule, 19, 20; becomes England, 29. 

British Empire, The, 2S9; future of, 300. 

Britons, their appearance, 14; their cour- 
age, 15; defeated by Caesar, 17; their 
last resistance, 18; their discontent, 20; 
their helplessness, 22, 23 ; harassed by 
barbarians, 24; driven from Britain, 28; 
their influence on English history, 56. 

Brittany, Arthur of, 83. 

Bruce, Robert, claims throne of Scotland, 
100. 

Bruce, Robert, becomes king, 102 ; his 



wanderings, 103, 104 ; his estimate of 

Edward I., 105 ; wins independence of 

Scotland, 106. 
Bunyan, John, his " Pilgrim's Progress," 

120. 
Burke, Edmund, 253. 

Cabot, John, his early travels, 152 ; his 
voyage, 153 ; discovers North American 
mainland, 154 ; value of his discoveries, 

155- 

Cadiz, Fleet burned at, 171. 

Ca?sar, Julius, sets sail for Britain, 14 ; 
his second invasion of Britain, 17. 

Calais, Siege of, 112; retained by Eng- 
land, 115 ; Warwick governor of, 142 ; 
Armada seeks refuge at, 172. 

Calcutta, Trading post at, 233 ; Black 
Hole of, 237, 238 ; capture of, 238. 

Campeggio, Cardinal, 163. 

Canada, French in, 224 ; present condi- 
tions in, 294 ; loyalty of, 300. 

Canaries, Hawkins at the, 167. 

Cannon, used at Crecy, no. 

Canterbury, Christian priests in, 33 ; a 
religious centre, 35 ; Becket archbishop 
of, 65 ; Becket murdered at, 68 ; pil- 
grimages to, 69 ; Langton archbishop 
of, 85, 272. 

" Canterbury Tales," 69. 

Canute, rules England, 51. 

Cape Breton Island, 154. 

Cape of Good Hope, Drake rounds, 170, 
294. 

Caradoc, his resistance, 17 ; in Rome, 18, 
30 ; set at liberty, 19. 

Carey, Sir Robert, 187. 

Carnworth, Earl of, 201. 

Carrick, Earl of, 102. 

Castle Hill, 194. 

Caswallon, makes treaty with C?esar, 17. 



INDEX. 



315 



Catholic Emancipation, 263. 

Cavaliers, followers of Charles I., 198, 

at Gloucester, 199 ; at Naseby, 200. 
Caxton, William, learns art of printing, 

148 ; sets up a press in London, 149. 
Cerdic, first king of Wessex, 52. 
Chalgrove, Battle of, 195. 
Charlemagne, Egbert at court of, 38 ; 

king of united Europe, 46. 
Charles I., his belief in divine right of 

kings, 189 ; becomes king, 191 ; levies 

ship money, 192 ; his demands of 

Parliament, 193 ; leaves London, 194 ; 

at Naseby, 201 ; makes treaty with the 

Scots, 202 ; his trial and execution, 203. 
Charles II., attempts to secure the throne, 

204 ; becomes king, 206 ; his interest 

in science, 211. 
Charles IV., of France, 107. 
Charles VI., his insanity, 132 ; his death, 

133- 

Charles VII., his lack of ambition, 133 ; 
receives Joan of Arc, 134, 135 ; his 
inaction, 136. 

Charles the Simple, 49. 

Chatham, Earl of, becomes leader of the 
Whigs, 221 ; his honesty, 222, 223 ; 
becomes prime minister, 225 ; his loss 
of popularity, 226 ; his advice un- 
heeded, 227 ; his last days, 229. 

Chaucer, Geoffrey, 69. 

Chimney sweeps, 255. 

Chimneys, 175, 176. 

Chinon, French court at, 134. 

Christianity, introduced into Britain, 20 ; 
introduced into Kent, 32, 33 ; spreads 
over England, 34, 35. 

Church, The, its privileges, 65 ; quarrels 
with John, 85 ; Henry VIII. declared 
head of, 163. 

Clarendon, Constitutions of, 67, 68. 



Clarkson, Thomas, his work to abolish 
the slave trade, 251, 252. 

Claudius, his campaign in Britain, 17; 
his triumph, 18. 

Clive, Robert, his youth, 231 ; employed 
by East India Company, 232 ; cap- 
tured at Madras, 233 ; at siege of 
Pondicherry, 234 ; captures Arcot, 235 ; 
honored in England, 236 ; governor of 
Fort St. David, 237 ; at battle of 
Plassey, 238, 239 ; his death, 240. 

Clothing, in fourteenth century, 118, 119; 
in sixteenth century, 183. 

Coal mines, condition of laborers in, 255. 

Cobden, Richard, his labors for repeal of 
the corn laws, 274. 

Columbus, Christopher, his trials ami 
successes, 151, 152. 

Commons, House of, its first meeting, 
96 ; refuses to grant money to Charles 
I., 191 ; quarrels in, 200; unfair rep- 
resentation in, 271. 

Commonwealth, The, proclaimed, 204. 

Comnenus, 73. 

Constantinople, captured by Turks, 150. 

Coleridge, Lord, 279, 280. 

Cooke, George F., 250. 

Copernicus, 215. 

Corn laws, The, 273, 274 ; repealed, 
276. 

Coryate, Thomas, 182. 

Crabbe, George, 283. ■ 

Cre'cy (Cressy), Battle of, 10S-112 ; com- 
pared with Cabot's discoveries, 154 ; 
1 lampden at, 190. 

Crime, Punishment of, 256, 257, 291. 

Cromwell, Elizabeth, 190. 

Cromwell, Oliver, at reception to James 
I., 188 ; his appearance, 197, 198 ; his 
Ironsides, 19S ; his successes, 200, 
201 ; approves action of Colonel Pride, 



316 



INDEX. 



203 ; becomes commander-in-chief, 204 ; 

Lord Protector, 205 ; his death, 206. 
Cromwell, Sir Oliver, entertains James 

I., 188, 197. 
Cromweil, Richard, succeeds his father, 

206. 
Crusades, The, 72. 
Curfew, The, 176. 
Cyprus, 73. 

Dampier, Captain William, visits Austra- 
lia, 290. 
Danelaw, yields to Alfred's overlordship, 

47- 

Danes, attack England, 41 ; conquer 
Mercia, 42 ; their treachery, 43 ; de- 
feated at Athi'lney, 45 ; their influence 
on English history, 57. 

Days of the week, Origin of names of, 31. 

Defoe, Daniel, 209. 

Deira, settled by Angles, 30 ; conquered 
by Bernicia, 31 ; united with Bernicia, 

34- 
Derby, Earl of, 19S. 
Devicotta, 235. 
Disraeli, Benjamin, opposes repeal of corn 

laws, 275 ; his use of ridicule, 279 ; 

his opposition to reform bill, 2S1. 
Doddridge, Philip, 251. 
Douglas, Lord James, 104. 
Dover, 14. 
Drake, Sir Francis, his youth, 166 ; his 

slave-trading voyage, 167, 16S ; his 

voyage around the world, 169, 170; 

burns the Spanish fleet, 171 ; defeats 

the Armada, 172, 233 ; his death, 173 ; 

his work, 174. 
Dupliex, captures Madras, 233. 

East Anglia, accepts Christianity, 34 ; at- 
tacked by Danes, 42. 



East India Company, 232, 236. 

Ebbsfleet, Hengistand Ilorsalandat, 29 ; 
Augustine lands at,- 32, 38. 

Edgar, renounces the throne, 55. 

Edgehill, Battle of, 194, 198. 

Edinburgh, founded, 34 ; Sir Robert 
Carey reaches, 187; James leaves, 188. 

Edmund, Duke of York, 128. 

Edred, unites all England, 47. 

Education, before and after Revival of 
Learning, 283 ; national, 284. 

Edward I., captured at Lewes, 95 ; set at 
liberty, 96 ; becomes king, 97 ; his 
character, 9S ; conquers Wales, 99 ; 
overlord of Scotland, 100 ; captures 
Stone of Destiny, 101 ; defeats William 
Wallace, 102 ; sends army to Scotland, 
103 ; his death, 105. 

Edward II., first Prince of Wales, 99 ; 
his character, 105 ; deposed by Parlia- 
ment, 107. 

Edward III., becomes king, 107 ; at bat- 
tle of Crecy, 109-111 ; captures Calais, 
112. 113 ; his death, 116 ; assumes title 
of King of France, 131 ; length of 
reign, 287. 

Edward IV., his reign, 144. 

Edward V. , becomes king, 144 ; his 
death, 146. 

Edward VI., his reign, 164. 

Edward VII., emperor of India, 240; 
becomes king, 287. 

Edward of Lancaster, 144. 

Edward the Confessor, 51, 52, 190. 

Edward the Elder, 47. 

Edwin, becomes a Christian, 34, 35. 

Egbert, becomes king of West Saxons, 
38 ; becomes king of England, 39. 

Elba, Napoleon at, 245. 

Eleanor of Aquitaine, marries Henry II., 
62. 



INDEX. 



317 



Eliot, Sir John, a leader in House of 
Commons, 191. 

Elizabeth, becomes queen, 164, 165 ; 
honors Drake, 170 ; her economy, 172 ; 
her prosperous reign, 1S3 ; her death, 
187 ; her heirs, 188 ; entertained by 
Hampden, 190; slave trading in time 
of, 250 ; her Irish policy, 260. 

Elizabeth of York, marries Henry VII., 
146. 

England, origin of the word, 29 ; over- 
run by Danes, 43 ; conquered by Nor- 
mans, 55; under Edward I., 98; in 
fourteenth century, 1 17-126; at close 
of Wars of the Roses, 146 ; under the 
Commonwealth, 205 ; in seventeenth 
century, 208-211 ; her sympathy for 
France, 243 ; condition in eighteenth 
century, 249, 250 ; in early nineteenth 
century, 273, 274. 

English possessions, under Henry 11., 
62 ; forfeited, 85 ; at death of Edward 
III., 115 ; in time of Henry VI., 137. 

Essex, settled by Saxons, 2g ; accepts 
Christianity, 34 ; overrun by Danes, 43. 

Essex, Earl of, raises siege of Gloucester, 
199 ; resigns, 201. 

Ethelbert, king of Kent, 32 ; gives au- 
dience to Augustine, 33 ; accepts Chris- 
tianity, 34. 

Ethelred, becomes king, 41 ; defeats the 
Danes, 42 ; his death, 43. 

Ethelwulf, becomes overlord of England, 
39 ; at Court of Charlemagne, 40 ; 
fixes the succession, 41. 

Evesham, Battle of, 96. 

Factory reform, 254, 255. 

Fairfax, Lord, his successes, 201 ; marches 

to London, 202 ; resigns, 204. 
Fairs, 119, 120. 



Falmouth, Lord, 223. 

Feast days, 179, 180. 

P'ield of the Cloth of Gold, 158-160. 

Fire, The London, 209. 

Fitz-Stephens, Thomas, 60. 

Flanders, manufactures woollen cloth, 
118. 

Fort Budge, its capture, 238. 

Fort St. David, Clive escapes to, 233 ; 
siege of, 234 ; Clive governor of, 237. 

Fox, Charles James, 253. 

France, attacked by Vikings, 49 ; war with 
England, 79 ; beginning of Hundred 
Wars' War, 108 ; war With England, 
224, 225 ; assists America, 229 ; and 
India, 231, 233-235; revolution in, 
242. 

Francis I., at Field of the Cloth of Gold, 
15S-160. 

Frederick Barbarossa, 73. 

French and Indian war, 224, 225. 

French Revolution, 242. 

Fry, Klizabeth, her prison work, 257. 

Furniture in sixteenth century, 177, 1S2. 

Galik-o, his telescope, 215 ; rejects his 
theories, 216. 

Gama, Yasco da, reaches India, 151 ; his 
voyage, 232, 233. 

Games, 179. 

Gascony, de Motitfort in, 91, 92 ; the 
Black Prince governs, 114. 

Gaul, conquered by Ca?sar, 14 ; trades 
with Britain, 17 ; a Roman province, 
20 ; conquered by Teutons, 28. 

Genoese crossbowmen, no. 

Geoffrey, Duke of Anjou, 61. 

Geoffrey, his rebellion, 72 ; father of Ar- 
thur of Brittany. 83. 

George I., becomes king, 219; his love for 
Germany, 220. 



3i8 



INDEX. 



George II., 220. 

George III., becomes king, 223; his 
character, 22(1 ; his theory of taxation, 
227; condition of England in time of, 
249 ; length of reign of, 2S7. 

George IV., opposes Catholic Emancipa- 
tion Bill, 263. 

Germany, home of the Teutons, 28 ; 
Napoleon defeats, 244. 

Gladstone, W. E., compared with Peel, 
278 ; his industry, 279 ; his courteous- 
ness, 280; supports reform bill, 2M ; 
his bill to remove newspaper tax, 2S2 ; 
a friend of Ireland, 284; retires from 
public life, 2S5 ; his kindness, 286, 2S7; 
his tribute to Victoria, 2S8. 

Gloucester, Duke of, governs England, 
133 ; his assassination, 138. 

Gloucester, Siege of, 199. 

Godwin, Earl, opposes Norman ideas, 52. 

( .< .nli in, ( ien. Charles ( i. , 296. 

( iravitation. Law of, 216. 

Greenland, discovered, 49. 

Gregory, and the English slaves, 31; 
sends missionaries to England, 32. 

Greville, Charles, 253. 

Guanahani, [52. 

( lUildS, I2(>, 127. 

Gutenburg, John, invents art of printing, 

148. 
Guthrum, attacks Wessex, 42 ; his treach- 
ery, 43 ; defeated by Alfred, 45 ; his 
death, 47. 

Hampden, Griffith, 190. 

Hampden, John, at reception to James I., 
188 ; refuses to purchase a title, 190 ; 
refuses to lend money to the king, 191 ; 
refuses to pay ship money, 192 ; his 
character, 193 ; killed at Chalgrove, 
195; his appearance, 197; raises a 



regiment, 198 ; his death a loss, 199 ; 
his work for liberty, 206. 

Hanover, 219. 

Harold, elected king, 52; killed at Hast- 
ings, 54. 

Harrison, William, 177. 

Harvey, I >r. William, discovers circula- 
tion of the blood, 211. 

1 [arwarden Park, 2S5. 

I Eastings, Battle of, 53, 54. 

1 fastings, John, 100. 

Hawkins, Sir John, his expedition, 166- 
16S ; and the slave trade, 250. 

Hazlerig, Arthur, 193, 194. 

Hengist, defeats the Picts, 24; lands at 
Ebbsfleet, 29. 

Henry I., his share of his father's pos- 
sessions, 59 ; his ambition, 60 ; his 
grief, 6l. 

Henry II., his birth, 61; becomes king, 
62 ; his friendship for Becket, 64, 65 ; 
his sincerity, 66 ; his quarrel with 
Becket, 67; his penance, 69 ; his family 
difficulties, 71 ; his death, 72 ; Ireland 
given to, 260. 

Henry III., becomes king, 89; his extrava- 
gance, 90 ; his quarrel with de Mont- 
fort, 91, 92 ; and Parliament, 93; cap- 
tured at Lewes, 95 ; his death, 97 ; his 
character, 9S; reigns over fifty years, 
287. 

Henry IV., becomes king, 128 ; character 
of his reign, 129 ; his death, 131. 

Henry V., as a boy, 129 ; his contempt of 
court, 130 ; his ambition, 131 ; renews 
Hundred Years' War, 132 ; his death, 
133. 

Henry VI., becomes king, 133 ; his char- 
acter, 138 ; his illness, 141 ; his love 
feast, 142 ; his compromise, 143 ; his 
death, 146. 



INDEX. 



319 



Henry VII. , wins at Bosworth Field, 146 ; 
his reign begins modern history, 148 ; 
Columbus petitions, 151 ; and Cabot, 
153 ; his economy, 154 ; employs Wol- 
sey, 157 ; and Katharine of Spain, 161. 

Henry VIII., at Field of the Cloth of 

■ Gold, 158 ; marries Katharine, 162 ; his 
divorce, 163, 164; becomes head of the 
Church, 164. 

Henry of Germany, releases Richard, 78, 

79- 

Henry, Prince, his rebellion, 71. 

Holland, Napoleon defeats, 244. 

Hollis, Denzil, his arrest demanded, 193, 
194. 

Home Rule, Demands for, 264, 267; Glad- 
stone advocates, 284. 

Horsa, defeats the Picts, 24 ; lands at 
Ebbsfleet, 29. 

Houses, in fourteenth century, 121 ; in 
sixteenth century, 181, 182. 

Howard, Lord, defeats Spanish Armada, 

172, 173- 
Hundred Years' War, 108, 115, 132. 



right of kings, 189 ; sells titles, 190 ; 
his death, 191. 

James II., his unpopularity, 206. 

Jarrow, Monastery at, 35; school at, 36 ; 
Bseda at, 3S. 

Jerusalem, its capture, 72 ; Richard be- 
fore, 76. 

Jews, admitted to Parliament, 263. 

Joan of Arc, her visions, 133, 134 ; rec- 
ognizes the Dauphin, 135 ; relieves 
Orleans, 136 ; her death, 137. 

John, his rebellion, 72 ; his disloyalty, 
78, 79 ; his character, 82 ; seizes the 
throne, 83 ; his cruelty, 84 ; quarrels 
with Langton, 85 ; quarrels with the 
nobles, 86 ; signs Magna Carta, 87 ; 
his honesty doubted, 88 ; his death, 
89 ; his misrule, 91. 

John II., of France, attacks Black Prince, 
114 ; his capture, 115. 

John of Gaunt, his house burned, 124 ; 
his power, 128. 

Jutes, invited to Britain, 23 ; their native 
home, 2S ; conquer Kent, 29. 



Independents, in House of Commons, 
201; control Parliament, 202; fanatics 
among, 204. 

India, Struggle for, 231 ; da Gama dis- 
covers route to, 232 ; British suprem- 
acy in, 240 ; conditions in, 290. 

Ireland, Rebellion in, 204; early inhabit- 
ants of, 259 ; harsh laws enforced in, 
260; Parliament abolished in, 202; 
famine in, 274, 275 ; Gladstone a friend 
of, 284. 

Ironsides, Cromwell's, 198 ; at Naseby, 
201. 

James I., receives the messenger, 187 ; 
becomes king, 1S8 ; his belief in divine 



Katharine of Aragon, at Field of the 
Cloth of ('.(.hi, [60; marries Arthur, 
161 ; marries Henry VIII., 162 ; her 
divorce, 163 ; mother of Queen Mary, 
164. 

Kenilworth, Elizabeth at, 1S4. 

Kent, settled by Jutes, 29 ; accepts 
Christianity, 34. 

Kimberley, Diamond mines at, 296; 
Rhodes goes to, 299. 

Kipling, Rudyard, 293. 

Kriiger, Paul, 298. 

Langton, Stephen, elected archbishop, 

85 ; leads the nobles, 86. 
Lawrence, Major, his expedition against 



320 



INDEX. 



Devicotta, 235 ; his expedition to 
Trichinopoli, 236. 

Leopold of Austria, reaches Acre, 74 ; 
at siege of Acre, 75 ; returns home, 76 ; 
his revenge, 78. 

Leven, Earl of, sells Charles I. to Parlia- 
ment, 202. 

Lewes, Battle of, 94, 95. 

Lionel, Duke of Clarence, 128. 

Liverpool and the slave trade, 250. 

Llewelyn-Ap-Griffith, his revolt, 99. 

London, William the Conqueror enters, 
55 ; Baliol imprisoned in, 101 ; overrun 
by Wat Tyler's band, 124 ; Tower of, 
144 ; in time of Elizabeth, 1S1 ; the 
plague and the fire in, 209 ; new police 
of, 270. 

Longueville, Count de, 50. 

Louis VII., of France, 71. 

Louis VIII. , offered the English crown, 
89. 

Louis IX., appointed arbitrator, 93. 

Lusignan, ( iuy de, 74. 

Madras, Thomas Pitt governor of, 221 ; 
(live at, 232; captured by Dupleix, 

233- 
Magna Carta, 87, SS, 96, 189, 191. 
Mainz, 14S. 

Malory, Sir Thomas, 25. 
Manchester, 271. 
Manufactures, in fourteenth century, 119 ; 

rapid increase in. 254 ; improvements 

in, 269. 
Margaret of Anjou, marries Henry VI., 

138 ; raises an army, 143 ; gives up the 

struggle, 144. 
Margaret, the " Maid of Norway," 100. 
Mary, ihieen, her reign, 164, 165. 
Mary, Queen, and William, 206, 207 ; 

her death, 219. 



Matabele insurrection, 299. 

Matilda, 6l. 

Matthew, Lather, his temperance crusade, 

265, 266. 
Mercia, settled by Angles, 30 ; conquered 

by Danes, 42 ; Danes withdraw from, 

45- 

Middlesex, settled by Saxons, 29; overrun 
by Danes, 43. 

Milner, Isaac, 251. 

Milton, John, 204. 

Monk, General, summons a Parliament, 
206. 

Montfort, Simon de, becomes Earl of 
Leicester, 90, 91 ; his popularity, 91 ; 
his quarrel with Henry III., 92, 93 ; at 
battle of Lewes, 94 ; controls the gov- 
ernment, 95; his Parliament, 96; results 
of his work, 97, 1S9. 

Napoleon, conquers Europe, 243, 244 ; 

his defeat, 245. 
Naseby, Battle of, 201. 
Nelson, Lord, at battle of Trafalgar, 244. 
Newark, 202. 
Newbury, Battle of, 199. 
Newcastle, 202. 
New-found-land, discovered by Cabot, 

154- 

Newman, Cardinal John Henry, 280. 

New model, The, 201. 

New Orleans, 224. 

New South Wales, 291, 292. 

Newspapers, 281-283. 

Newton, Isaac, revolutionizes science, 
211 ; his boyhood, 212 ; at Cambridge, 
213; his theory of color, 214; discovers 
Law of Gravitation, 216; his character, 
217. 

Norfolk, settled by Angles, 30. 

Normandy, 50 ; given to Robert, 59 ; 



INDEX. 



321 



Richard called to, 79; seized by France, 

85- 

Normans, 50 ; assist William, 52 ; in 
England, 56 ; their influence on Eng- 
lish history, 57. 

Northmen, plunder Europe, 49 ; adopt 
French civilization, 50. 

Northumbria, 34 ; accepts Christianity, 
35 ; her supremacy in the north, 38 ; 
attacked by Danes, 42. 

Nottingham, 194. 

O'Connell, Daniel, and the Catholic As- 
sociation, 262 ; elected to House of 
Commons, 263 ; his mass meetings, 
264, 265 ; his trial and death, 267. 

Orange Free State, 29S, 299. 

Orleans, Siege of, 133 ; relief of, 136 ; 
Maid of, 137. 

Oxford, Drake's chair at, 170; Hampden 
at, 190; Charles I. at, 201 ; Peel at, 
270 ; Rhodes at, 295, 296. 

Pacific Ocean, Drake in, 170. 

Panama, Drake at, 169. 

Paris, attacked by Rollo, 49 ; expedition 
against, 115. 

Parliament, and Henry IIP, 93; de Mont- 
fort's, 96; deposes Edward II., 107; 
influence of people in, 117; regulates 
importation of luxuries, 119; proclaims 
a protectorate, 141 ; makes a compro- 
mise, 143 ; proclaims James Stuart 
king, 188 ; dissolved by Charles P, 
191; condemns Wentworth, [92; raises 
an army, 194 ; under the Common- 
wealth, 204, 205; invites Charles IP 
to England, 206; taxes American colo- 
nies, 227; Catholics admitted to, 263. 

Peel, Robert, discovers method for print- 
ing calico, 268, 269. 
21 



Peel, Sir Robert, his liberality, 269 ; his 
ambitions, 270 ; his police system, 270 ; 
his work for suffrage reform, 271 ; and 
the corn laws, 274, 275 ; his charac- 
ter, 276 ; compared with Gladstone, 
278. 

Petition of Right, 191. 

Pevensey, William lands at, 53. 

Philip Augustus, goes on a crusade, 73; 
his jealousy, 74; returns to France, 76 } 
defeated by Richard, 79. 

Philip VI., of France, 107 ; war declared 
against, 108. 

Philippa, and burghers of Calais, 113; 
encourages manufactures, 119. 

Picts, resist the Romans, 19 ; overrun 
Britain, 23 ; defeated by Jutes, 24 ; 
yield to Arthur, 25. 

Pit!, Thomas, governor of Madras, 221. 

Pitt, William, see Chatham. 

Pitt, William, prime minister, 244 ; his 
advice, 251 ; supports bill to abolish 
slave trade, 252. 

Plague, The, in London, 209. 

Plantagenet, 62. 

Plassey, Battle of, 23S-240. 

Poitiors, Pattle of, 114, 190. 

Police, The, 270, 27 r. 

Polo, Marco, his travels, 150. 

I ondicherry, a French trading post, 233; 
siege of, 234. 

Pope, Alexander, 211. 

Pope, The, adopts Alfred, 39; consents 
to William's invasion, 52 ; absolves 
Becket, 67 ; canonizes Becket, 68 ; 
appeals to, -S; orders election of Lang- 
ton, S5 ; orders an interdict, 86 ; and 
Henry VHP, 163 ; opposes new ideas, 
216 ; gives Ireland to England, 260. 

Portugal and the East Indies, 233. 

Powis, Pord, 193. 



322 



INDEX. 



Presbyterians, in House of Commons, 
201 ; expelled from Parliament, 202 ; 
oppose Rump Parliament, 204. 

Pretender, The, 219. 

Pretender, The Young, 220. 

Pride, Colonel, 202. 

Pride's Purge, 202. 

Primogeniture, Law of, 40. 

Prison reform, 257. 

Puritans, The, 208. 

Pym, John, leader in House of Com- 
mons, 191 ; his arrest demanded, 193. 

Quebec, Victory of, 225. 

Raleigh, Sir Walter, 170. 

Rhodes, Cecil, his character, 294 ; and 
General Gordon, 296; his work for 
Africa, 297, 298 ; his courage, 299, 300. 

Richard I., his rebellion, 71 ; becomes 
king, 72 ; sells rights to English cities, 
73 ; his popularity, 74 ; captures Acre, 
75 ; before Jerusalem, 76 ; his daring, 
77 ; his capture, 7S ; called to France, 
79 ; his death, 80. 

Richard II. , his character, 116; ad- 
dresses the mob, 125 ; breaks his prom- 
ises, 126 ; his death, 129. 

Richard III., becomes king, 145; killed 
at Bosworth Field, 146. 

Richard, Duke of York, 139. 

Richard of Cornwall, opposes de Mont- 
fort, 91 ; captured at Lewes, 95. 

Revival of Learning, The, 150. 2S3. 

Robert, Duke of Normandy, 59 ; claims 
the throne, 60. 

Robert of Gloucester, 2^4. 

Robert the Magnificent, 50. 

Rollo, captures Rouen, 49. 

Romans, invade Britain, 14-17 ; their rule 



in Britain, 19, 20 ; abandon Britain, 22 ; 
their estimate of the English, 30. 

Rome, the ruler of the world, 14 ; Cara- 
doc in, 18, 19, 30 ; overrun by the Teu- 
tons, 28 ; English slaves in, 31 ; Alfred 
goes to, 39. 

Romilly, Samuel, his work for criminal 
reform, 257. 

Roses, Wars of the, 141-146. 

Rouen, captured by Rollo, 49 ; Joan of 
Arc burned at, 136. 

Roundheads, origin of the name, 199. 

Round Table, The, 24, 25. 

Rump Parliament, The, condemns Charles 
I., 203 ; proclaims the republic, 204. 

Runnymede, 86, S9. 

St. George, 179. 

St. Helena, Napoleon at, 245. 

St. John, Oliver, leader of the Independ- 
ents, 191, 201. 

Saladin, his courtesy, 74; surrenders 
Acre, 75. 

San Francisco, Drake winters at, 170. 

San Juan del Ulloa, 167. 

Saracens, capture Gilbert a Becket, 63 ; 
capture the Holy Land, 72 ; attacked 
by Richard, 76 ; make treaty with 
Richard, 78. 

Sardinia, King of, 223. 

Saxons, land in Britain, 24 ; defeated by 
Arthur, 25 ; conquer Britain, 28, 29 ; 
their influence on English history, 57. 

Schools, in Shakespeare's time, 177, 178; 
before and after Revival of Learning, 
2S3; national system of, 284. 

Scotland, Early inhabitants of, 19 ; a 
separate kingdom, 98 ; affairs in, 99, 
101 ; conquered by England, 101; wins 
its independence, 106 ; united with Eng- 
land, 188 ; Charles II. in, 204. 



INDEX. 



323 



Scots, overrun Britain, 23 ; yield obedi- 
ence to Arthur, 25. 
Scott, Sir Walter, 270. 
Self-denying ordinance passed, 201. 
Serfs in England, 123, 126. 
Shakespeare, William, 140; his birth, 175; 
at school, 177; goes to London, 180; 
in London, 1S4 ; returns to Stratford, 
186. 
Sheep raising, in England, 11S ; in Aus- 
tralia, 291. 
Ship money, 191, 192. 
Slaves, sold by Hawkins, 167 ; emanci- 
pated, 253. 
Slave trade, begun, 167 ; opinions regard- 
ing, 250 ; cruelties of, 251 ; abolished, 
253- 
Somerset, Duke of, heir to the throne, 
139 ; his quarrel with Warwick, 140 ; 
his lips and downs, 141 ; his death, 142. 
Spain, a Roman province, 20; conquered 
by Teutons, 28 ; her hatred for Drake, 
170; sends out the Armada, 141 ; re- 
sists Napoleon, 244 ; Wellington in 
Spain, 245. 
Stamford Bridge, Battle of, 52. 
Stamp Act, The, 227. 
Staples, Bishop, 260. 
Stephen, his claims to the throne, 61 ; his 

compromise with Henry, 62. 
Stone of Destiny, The, its capture, 101. 
Stratford, 175, 177, 180, 186. 
Straw, Jack, 124. 

Streets, in fourteenth century, 122 ; in 
sixteenth century, 180, 1S1 ; after the 
great fire, 210. 
Strode, William, his arrest demanded, 193, 

194. 
Suffolk, settled by Angles, 30. 
Suffrage, first reform bill, 271 ; second 
reform bill, 281. 



Sussex, settled by Saxons, 29. 
Swegen, attacks England, 51. 

Taxation, Roman, 20, 22 ; in fourteenth 
century, 123; in America, 226, 227; 
in France, 242 ; in eighteenth century, 
249 ; on newspapers, 2S2. 
Temple Gardens, 140. 
Tennyson, Alfred Lord, 25. 
Teutons, overrun Europe, 28 ; conquer 

England, 29; their religion, 31. 
Thanet, Isle of, 29. 
Theatres, in sixteenth century, 1S4, 1S5 ; 

closed, 208. 
Tories, The, 220. 
Trafalgar, Battle of, 244. 
Transvaal, 298, 299. 
Trichinopoli, Siege of, 235, 236. 
Troyes, Treaty of, 132. 
Tudor, Owen, 154. 
Turks, capture Jerusalem, 73 ; capture 

( 'onstantinople, 150. 
Turnberry Head, 104. 
Tyler, Wat, resists the collector, 124; his 
death, 125 ; his character, 126. 

Valparaiso, Drake at, 169. 

Vane, Sir 1 [any, 201. 

Vera Cruz, Hawkins at, 167. 

\ ictoria, becomes queen, 272 ; wins love 
of the people, 273 ; refuses to accept 
Peel's resignation, 275 ; her long reign, 
2S7 ; her influence, 288. 

Yortigern, 23. 

Wales, Caradoc's last stand in, 17 ; 
Britons confined to, 25; an independ- 
ent kingdom, 98 ; joined to England, 
99. 

Wallace, William, 102. 

Walpole, Horace, 225. 



324 



INDEX. 



Walpole, Robert, his contempt for " the 
boys," 221 ; takes away Pitt's commis- 
sion, 222. 

War chariots, 16, 17, 21. 

Warwick, Earl of, his popularity, 139 ; 
his quarrel with Somerset, 140 ; raises 
an army, 141 ; governor of Calais, 142 ; 
his ups and downs, 143 ; his death, 
144. 

Waterloo, Battle of, 245, 246. 

Wellington, Duke of, at Plassey, 239 ; 
his character, 244 ; commands the 
Allies, 245 ; at Waterloo, 246 ; his later 
life, 247 ; prime minister, 263 ; and the 
first suffrage reform bill, 271 ; his esti- 
mate of Peel, 276. 

Welsh, their origin, 25. 

Wentworth, Thomas, his execution, 192; 
his character, 193. 

Wessex, settled by Saxons, 29; Egbert 
exiled from, 38 ; Danes appear in, 
41 ; overrun by Danes, 43 ; supports 
Alfred, 44 ; Guthrum withdraws from, 

45- 
West Indies, Slaves sold in, 167; Drake 
captures cities in, 170 ; slaves freed in, 

253- 
Whigs, The, 220. 
White Skip, The, Loss of, 61. 
Wight, Isle of, 202. 
Wilberforce, Bishop Samuel, 278. 
Wilberforce, William, his early life, 250; 



his change of purpose, 251 ; his bill to 
abolish the slave trade, 252. 

William I., the Conqueror, becomes 
Duke of Normandy, 50 ; his claims to 
England, 52 ; lands at Pevensey, 53 ; at 
battle of Hastings, 54 ; elected king, 
55 ; divides his possessions, 59. 

William II., Rufus, his character, 59 ; 
his death, 6c 

William III., and Mary, invited to Eng- 
land, 206 ; crowned, 207 ; their reign, 
219. 

William IV., his death, 272. 

William, Prince, his marriage, 60; his 
death, ()I. 

Witan, the assembly of the wise men, 51 ; 
elects Harold king, 52 ; elects Wil- 
liam king, 55 ; its loss of power, 60, 
85 ; its powers, 107. 

Wolf, General, at Quebec, 225. 

Wolsey, Thomas, his early life, 156 ; his 
advancement. 157; his love of display, 
158 ; wishes to be Pope, 160 ; and the 
divorce, 163 ; his death, 164. 

Woolsack, The, 119. 

York, a religious center, 35. 

York, Duke of, governor of Ireland, 
140 ; his ups and downs, 141 ; ap- 
pointed protector, 142 ; presents his 
claims to Parliament, 143 ; becomes 
king, 144. 



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